


Dorcas My Dear

by FroggieFreddie69



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Canon Compliant, Canonical Character Death, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Female Marauders (Harry Potter), First Kiss, First War with Voldemort, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Marauders Era (Harry Potter), Marauders Friendship (Harry Potter), Requited Love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-21
Updated: 2021-02-18
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:55:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 44
Words: 56,574
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28218819
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FroggieFreddie69/pseuds/FroggieFreddie69
Summary: This is a Marauder's Fanfiction, which takes place during and after their time at Hogwarts, however, this is from Dorcas Meadowes' point of view. I've added my own details here and there since we don't actually know much about the Marauder's time at Hogwarts, otherwise, this is pretty canon-compliant.1971-1981Also, this is a Dorlene (Dorcas x Marlene) fanfiction. It's kind of slow-burn, but I promise it's worth it.
Relationships: Alice Longbottom/Frank Longbottom, James Potter/Lily Evans Potter, Marlene McKinnon & Dorcas Meadowes, Marlene McKinnon/Dorcas Meadowes, Sirius Black/Remus Lupin
Comments: 15
Kudos: 17





	1. Summer 1970: Ottery St. Catchpole, Devon, England

**Author's Note:**

> IMPORTANT: I do not support J.K Rowling's disgusting transphobic views, as a non-binary person myself; everyone and anyone deserves to be loved, no matter who they identify as.

The Meadowes family were rather normal, at least, according to their neighbours. Their small cottage was only a few miles away from the centre of the village but was rather an amazing sight to see, with ivy dripping from the perched wooden roof and coloured glass windows, almost fairy-tale like. Of course, the foolish neighbours suspected something to be wrong, and soon rumours spread around the village. They were rather plain, like the one time Mrs Arabella, the baker's wife, had decided that Dorcas, the eldest daughter of the Meadowes couple, was severely stupid, which was why she didn't attend school. Mrs Arabella couldn't have been more wrong.

Dorcas excelled in all of the subjects which her mother taught to her, in the privacy of their home. Her favourite was History or perhaps even English. She loved hearing about the kings and queens, which had reigned England for the past hundred years. Dorcas dreamed of going to school and having friends who she could talk to about all this, but her parents always said it was too dangerous. They always brought up incidents of her destroying things and making ivy grow heavily around their house when she was younger. Her parents, Lukas and Pamela, had decided it was best for Dorcas to be homeschooled and have as little communication to the outside world as humanly possible. This wasn't the same for Dorcas' older brother, Darryl, who was allowed to attend the village school and was even able to stay out late with his friends.

The only friend Dorcas had, was Annoying Amos Diggory, who lived just a few miles away from the Meadowes' home, with his parents. He was just as well home-schooled but was rubbish at it. His best attribute was being able to talk for literally hours on end, without stopping to take a breath. He would often come to the Meadowes' backyard and talk to Dorcas for hours on end until his mother would call him back home. On this particular day, 3rd of August 1970, Amos seemed rather excited as he ran up the cobblestone steps, with a piece of paper in his hand, which lead to the Meadowes' house.

"Dorcy, Dorcy!" Amos shouted as he threw himself next to the girl, who was sitting calmly reading her book.

It was a Muggle book, as Dorcas' father called it, but it was beautiful nevertheless. The book told the tale of fours sisters, struggling with poverty during the American Civil War, and who each needed to overcome their own sufferings. Dorcas loved the tale, for she longed to have a sister to talk to all night and try to help her. Even someone like Amy, who personally annoyed the heck out of Dorcas.

"What is it, Amos?" Dorcas closed the book in her lap, as she looked up to see the frantic white, blonde boy.

"I got my Hogwarts letter just yesterday! Isn't that awesome!" Amos jumped up and down. "I've already gotten all of my supplies from Diagon Alley, bought them just in June. Father told me that he knew I was going to get in. Oh, I do hope I get sorted into Hufflepuff. It is the best house after all, according to Father at least." 

"Hogwarts? Hufflepuff? What are you going on about? Have you hit yourself in the head recently?" Dorcas eyed the boy curiously. Amos was known for playing pretend games, but he would never get THIS excited about it.

"No, no. Wait, you don't know about Hogwarts?" Amos asked, clearly astounded, as Dorcas shook her head. "Well, you're missing out. I'll tell you, though, cause I'm such a good friend. Hogwarts is a school of magic. Everyone who goes there has magic blood. You have it as well, I've seen you get mad and then-and then the ivy all jumps up. That's why we're both homeschooled. We can't let anyone know we're magic, or else, I think we'll get sent to a prison of some sort. Don't remember the name, but Mother always threatened me that I'd go there if I misbehave." 

"All right, I'll play along." Dorcas scoffed, as she laid her book on the ground, "I'm the greatest witch of all and I have a broom, cauldron and a big ugly frog. I've been to the magic prison and I have loads of tattoos on my back. I went to Hogwarts and got sorted into...Wait a damn minute, what do you mean sorted into? And what can you get sorted into?" Dorcas squinted her eyes at Amos as if trying to figure out where he's lying.

"Well, first of all, I want you to stop playing around and believe me for once. I'm not making this up!" Amos stomped his foot.

"All right, all right, I believe you. Now do tell me what you mean by sorting." 

"Fine. Well, there's fours houses: Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Slytherin. Gryffindor is where all the brave, senseless people go. Ravenclaw, where all the people with wits and the ones that won't help you with homework go. Hey, maybe you'll fit into this one." Amos chuckled.

"Haha. Very funny, now you were saying about Hufflepuff and Slugerin?"

"Not Slugerin, Slytherin. Well, Hufflepuff is where all the loyal, kind, amazing and wonderful people go, like me, while Slytherin, well, I don't know much about Slytherin, but I do think it's where all the bad people go, at least that's what Mother told me. If I get sorted into Slytherin, I'll be disowned." Amos muttered.

"Well, when are you going? Tomorrow would be a great day, you know." Dorcas suggested.

"Well, no, actually I'm going on September 1st, it says so right here in my letter. When are you getting your letter, Dorcas? When's your birthday?" Amos eyed her.

"Today, you should know Amos." Dorcas sighed, "Perhaps, I'm not getting in."

"No, don't worry. You are. The letter just got...lost probably. There's no need for you to worry, I'm sure it'll arrive sooner than you think." Amos reassured her, before looking up into the distance. The sun was setting, meaning he had to get back home for dinner. "I need to go, but don't worry. I'm sure you'll get your letter soon enough. The day's not over yet." Amos smiled as he turned back around and ran down the cobblestone steps.

Dorcas followed the boy, with her eyes, watching him get smaller and smaller as he ran back home. She knew that Hogwarts couldn't possibly be real, but she still wanted to believe. Maybe her letter was lost or something. Or perhaps the family owl, Maney, had just forgotten to pick it up. Dorcas sighed, as she put the Muggle book back into her satchel and rushed into her home. The smell of soup cooking flooded the small ground floor. Pamela must've decided to make her famous chicken soup with vegetables, which Dorcas adored usually, but today she wasn't in the mood. She just wanted her birthday to be done and over with. As Dorcas treaded up the wooden steps, trying to get to her and Darryl's room, Pamela's voice echoed through the room:

"Everyone! Dinner is set." Darryl's echoing footsteps rushed down the stairs, leaving Dorcas rather dazed, as she turned around to follow her brother.

"Ew, I don't like soup." Darryl made vomiting sounds, as he pulled out his chair.

The Meadowes living room was small but fashionable. A bright red leather couch was set in the middle of the room, along with a porcelain glass table, which none of the Meadowes children were allowed to touch. Dorcas trod very carefully along the wooden floor, balancing out her weight, before taking her seat at the wooden dining table, in the corner of the room. Darryl was leaning back on his chair, crossing his arms, in protest. Dorcas rolled her eyes at her petty brother, as she began digging in. Lukas Meadowes walked out of the small storage room, right behind the kitchen, and sat down at the head of the table. The sun had completely gone out by now and the crescent moon had taken its place.

"How was everyone's day?" Pamela smiled as she sat herself down at the other end of the table.

"Amazing." Darryl began, "I and Robert decided to go play catch in the forest behind his house. It was brilliant. We even lit a small fire and made roasted marshmallows. Then we went biking and my bike broke down, so we threw it in a ditch-"

"You, what-?" Lukas suddenly awoke from his daze as he eyed his son.

"I-I threw it in a ditch. Its wheel was deflated." 

"You could've brought it back home. That bike cost me a month's salary." Luka buried his face in his hands, as he shook his head.

"Sorry, dad." Darryl gulped.

"I'm not buying you another one. You'll have to figure it out." Lukas breathed in as he lifted his head. His gaze drifted from Darryl to Dorcas, "So, how was your day, sweetie?"

"Well, boring, for the most part. Then, Amos began ranting to me about Hogwarts, the Houses and magic. It sounded ridiculous." Dorcas shrugged, but then realized her father's face went bright pale, "Wait, Hogwarts is real?"

"Yes...It is a place where you go to learn magic, but I don't know if you're going. No letter has arrived just yet and it's almost midnight. Maybe you're just like your brother and mother: non-magical." 

"Wait, you're magical?" Dorcas asked.

"Magic exists!" Darryl exclaimed, jumping in his seat.

"Oh, blimey." Pamela sighed.

"Yes and yes. However, nobody in this room is allowed to speak another word of it, especially you Darryl. Dorcas, I don't think you're going to Hogwarts, or else your letter would've arrived already." Lukas gulped, as he watched his daughter's face fall, "But you're still going to learn with your mother, and maybe you can even go to a normal school, once we get your anger sorted out."

The room fell silent. So, what Amos had been blubbering about was true: Hogwarts did exist. That thought clouded Dorcas' mind. She wasn't going to Hogwarts. She wasn't special. She would have to sit with her mother, in the living room, and stay indoors for the rest of her life, and only in the Summer, could she hear about Amos' great adventures at Hogwarts. 

Then, the window opened ever so slightly, so that the family owl, Manley could get in. He looked awful. His feathers were covered in mud and his eyes were red from the rain. Despite this, he still flew over to the table and landed a letter right in front of Dorcas. The letter had a bright red insignia stamped on it, with an H right in the middle of it. Dorcas held her breath as she opened the letter, everyone's eyes on her, including Manley's.

_Miss Dorcas Meadowes_

_Ottery St. Catchpole_

_Devon, England_

_Dear Miss. Meadowes,_

_We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. Term begins September 1. We await your owl by no later than August 15._

_Yours sincerely,_

_Minerva McGonagall_

_Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts School of_ _Witchcraft and Wizardry_

By now, everyone had drifted off to where Dorcas was sitting. This was nothing short of a miracle. Dorcas felt herself fill up with happiness, as she laid back down the piece of paper, right next to the one which listed all of the necessary equipment.

"I'm going to Hogwarts." Dorcas smiled.

"You sure are." Lukas chuckled as he hugged his daughter.

Darryl slowly walked back to his seat, his smile fading. Dorcas didn't care much though. Finally, she was going to a school where she could make proper friends. The unfortunate thing was that Amos was also going, but at the end of the day, it wasn't so bad. Her parents sat back down at the table and continued talking about their average day, but Dorcas couldn't take her eyes off the letter. She traced the golden letters at the top of the page once more: _Hogwarts_. For a second, just a split second, Dorcas thought she had seen the word: _Home_ scribbled on it, but it must've just been a trick of the light.


	2. First Year: The Ride to Hogwarts

Dorcas woke up, on September 1st, ready to get to Hogwarts. Her heart was imploding, from all the excitement. Her luggage was rather overpacked, with all of her new robes and books, so overpacked, that it took both Dorcas and Darryl sitting on it, for it to finally close at the latch. Darryl was still in bed, as it was only six o'clock in the morning, but Dorcas had to get to the train station as soon as possible, for she was taking no chance into not getting into a school for magic. Dorcas rushed into her bathroom and changed into her normal clothes. She looked at herself in the mirror for a moment: This was the last time she was going to be wearing Muggle clothes.

The girl rushed back into her room, and by this time, Darryl was already awake and sipping on his cup of tea. Dorcas quickly grabbed the Muggle book, off of her shelf, and rushed to grab her luggage out of the room.

"Hey, Dorcy?" Darryl whispered ever so slightly.

"Yes, Darryl?" Dorcas dropped her luggage with a thud, as she turned around towards her brother.

"You-You won't forget me, will ya?" Darryl looked back down at his porcelain mug.

"Aw, Darryl." Dorcas rushed towards his bedside, before embracing him in a hug. "I could never forget your dumb self."

"Heyy-" Darryl pushed her off, jokingly. "Just promise me."

"Fine, I promise. Now I do need to get going. Say hi to Robert for me." Dorcas rushed towards her trunk, waved to Darryl, before turning back to the open hallway, and dragged her luggage and the owl cage right back downstairs. 

The Diggorys had agreed to take Dorcas along as well, for Dorcas' father didn't have a magical transport, since his job lay somewhere in town. Dorcas had never been there, of course, but something told her that it was a magical job he was working. She rushed downstairs, the constant thuds of her trunk echoing throughout the room. She reached the front of the door, turning the wooden knob for the last time, before stepping out into the cold fresh air.

Pamela was sitting on the front porch, along with Mrs Diggory, who was gripping onto the blonde boy's hand. Amos was wearing already his fancy yellow and black robes, clearly not having to worry about changing on the train ride there. His face lit up, as he saw Dorcas, giving a full smile, before waving her over. 

"Dorcy, finally. I thought you'd never come." Amos jumped up and down as he grabbed her swiftly by the arm and pulled her towards him and his mom.

"Do take care, dear." Pamela gave Dorcas a rosy smile but held back.

Suddenly, Dorcas felt as if she was being teleported, as the image of her mother, quickly faded away, before Dorcas could act. She closed her eyes, almost instinctively. When Dorcas felt as her surroundings finally stopped changing, she opened her eyes ever so slightly. They were standing a few streets away from Kings Cross station, in a rather dark alley. Mrs Diggory brushed herself off, before rather harshly, grabbing Amos' hand and dragging him with her. Dorcas rushed after them, keeping her head low and counting how many steps she had made. She looked up for a moment, and the fancy street filled with high-class people. On the other side of the road was a blonde lady with a purple fur coat, who was having her morning cup of tea. Dorcas enjoyed watching fancy clothes and dreamed of having her own clothes shop, at least when she was younger. Now, on the other hand, she had to think about what jobs a magical person can have.

"We're here." Mrs Diggory's voice pulled Dorcas back to reality, as the girl looked up to see that they had reached Kings Cross station. "Now, Amos, you know the way. Do show Dorcas as well. Take care both of you." Mrs Diggory hugged Amos, rather coldly, before turning away and walking back towards the dark alley.

"C'mon, Dorcy, we're going to Hogwarts!" Amos excitedly grabbed his friend and carried her inside.

The station was filled with people rushing from one place to another. Men in bright blue suits were rushing all around them, always on the phone with someone. Dorcas loved the whole atmosphere, although Amos seemed to rather regret being here. He dragged her throughout the whole train station until they reached two different blocks: 9 and 10. Amos proudly walked through, the 9th block, his luggage in one hand, and Dorcas' hand in the other. They suddenly walked into a whole new place.

A black train, with the letters _The Hogwarts Express_ sprawled across the top of it, was stationed on the tracks. Huge amounts of smoke appeared from its head, making Dorcas cough ever so slightly. The two kids made their way across the platform, reaching the entrance towards the train. Dorcas looked around, seeing many families waving their children off. She noticed one particular boy, who was being scolded by his mother and father. He had jet black hair and brown eyes. His expression was sour, as his mother, who was holding another little boy was threatening him.

"Are all wizarding families like that?" Dorcas gulped.

"No." Amos stated, "That's just the Black family. They think they're the best of the lot, with their pureblood mania. It's foolish, but I suggest you stay away from that boy. He might have his family's ideals, and if he does, he won't be nice to any half-bloods or muggle-borns."

"Noted." Dorcas nodded before she turned back towards the entrance and hopped in alongside Amos. 

There were already plenty of filled-up carriages, with students talking rapidly about their Summer. Dorcas shuffled along, in front of Amos, trying to find a carriage. Out of nowhere, a brown-haired girl, with matching dark eyes appeared, but before Dorcas could notice, she had already bumped into him.

"Terribly sorry." The girl helped Dorcas back up, "I'm trying to find an empty carriage."

"Same here." Dorcas smiled, as she got to take a better look at the girl.

She had golden-brown eyes, pale skin and short, pinned, straight hair. Her nose was covered in small freckles and her smile would brighten anyone's day.

"I'm Alice by the way. Alice Fortescue." The girl held out her hand.

"Dorcas. Dorcas Meadowes. Pleasure." Dorcas gave a light-hearted smile back.

The two girls made their way throughout the train, finally having found one empty carriage. They sat themselves down as the doors closed and awaited for departure. Dorcas looked closely at Alice. She was wearing a lovely pink dress, clearly made of silk. There were a few embroidery images on the cuffs, which seemed to depict a mythical story, although it was too small for Dorcas to see clearly which one it was. Alice looked out the window as she waved goodbye to, supposedly, her family members. They all looked rather dark and tall, complete opposite from Alice's sunny personality.

"Are those your parents?" Dorcas asked.

"Oh heavens no." Alice chuckled nervously, "They are my uncle and aunt, from my mum's side of the family. My real parents are International Protectors, which means they fight a lot worldwide. Don't hear from them very often. My uncle and aunt are nice enough though." Alice gulped, but Dorcas could tell she was lying.

"That's...great." Dorcas gave a reassuring fake smile.

Silence fell in the carriage once more, as the engine on the train began rumbling, signalling for the last passengers to get on. Alice was digging into her bag, clearly searching for something. Dorcas just began realizing that she had left Amos behind, though he had probably found some new friends, so she wasn't too worried.

"You excited about Hogwarts?" Alice finally looked back up, having a packet of Jelly Slugs in her hand.

"Well, sort of." Dorcas shrugged, eyeing the Jelly Slugs.

"Want some?" Alice held out the bag and Dorcas gladly reached her hand into it:

"Thwanks." She mumbled, almost choking on the jelly, making Alice chuckle ever so slightly.

The train finally began moving, leaving behind parents who were clearly trying not to cry, for the sake of their kids. A knock suddenly sounded on the door, making Dorcas and Alice's attention drift towards it. A frizzy, dark-haired girl with monolid deep, hazel eyes and a rather confident smile, was holding her trunk, waiting for the doors to open. Dorcas stood up and gladly pushed them open, making way for the girl to finally find a seat.

"Sorry, may I sit here?" She asked, and at the moment both Alice and Dorcas nodded, she sat herself down, "I'm Mary, by the way. Mary Macdonald. You are?" Her eyes drifted from Dorcas to Alice, back and forth.

"I'm Alice. And that's Dorcas." Alice answered as Dorcas made her way back to her leather seat.

"Pleasure." Mary smiled, although her tone was rather harsh, surprising Dorcas.

Dorcas and Alice eyed each other, clearly in confusion at the girl, but Mary just leaned back and took out a book from her trunk, clearly not feeling up for a conversation. This was going to be a long ride.


	3. First Year: The Sorting Ceremony

Dorcas felt rather sick. The whole boat ride had been a huge mess, with Mary and Alice fighting all the way to the shore on which Hogwarts lay. Plus, something slimy had grabbed the edge of the boat, which had made Dorcas almost fall backwards into the black lake. The sky was dark by the time they had reached the school, but most people were wide awake. The castle was huge in size, with bright almost firefly-like lights buzzing at the edges of the windows. Huge pillars with stories of ancient myths engraved in them, which seemed to almost move, welcomed the students into the main hallway of the castle.

Portraits of late wizards and witches were hung around, almost reminding the students the legacy which they should uphold. The only thing lighting up the place were small candles placed in the corners of the room. A stern-looking lady was waiting for the students right before the huge door, which presumably lead to the dining hall. She had a sharp nose, small, green eyes and her mouth was slightly upturned. She clearly meant business. 

"Thes' 're the First-Yers, Prof'ssor McGonagall." The huge, hairy man, who had brought the new students from the Hogsmeade station all the way to the castle, said.

"Thank you, Hagrid and welcome to Hogwarts, First-Years. The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly. But, before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting Ceremony is a very important tradition here because while you are here, your house will be like your family. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory and spend your free time in the house common room." McGonagall explained, "There are four houses: Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. Each house has its own noble history and has produced powerful witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, you will earn house points for good behaviour, while any rule-breaking will lose you House Points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the House Cup, a great honour. I hope each and every one of you will be a great credit to whichever house you'll be sorted in." McGonagall explained, rather emotionlessly.

She turned around and pushed open the brass doors, which led to the Great Hall. Dorcas gawped at the sight of it. More candles were floating in the room, and they didn't seem to be touching anything. The ceiling looked as if it were open to the heavens as if you could just fly out of there. Dorcas felt Alice squeeze her hand, as the First-Years all followed McGonagall past the tables filled with students. Everyone stared at the First-Years, as if trying to figure them out and see in which house they'd be sorted. In the corner of her eye, Dorcas could see AMos and another boy waving towards someone, although the girl couldn't tell who it was.

As they reached the front of the room, McGonagall took out a piece of parchment. A brown hat was sitting on a wooden stool, and Dorcas suspected that they would probably have to put it on, although she wasn't really keen on wearing five hundred-year-old hat, which could have lice for all she knew. She finally noticed the ghosts which were each standing by one table. Dorcas didn't recognize any of them, but she didn't like the look of the one at the green table (supposedly the Slytherin one). Suddenly, much to Dorcas' amazement, the Sorting Hat began reciting a poem:

" _Welcome one, welcome all, to Hogwarts castle_ ,

 _Where magic will be your greatest weapon_ ,

 _But before you begin your journey_ ,

 _Let me teach you all a short lesson_.

_There once were four founders each:_

_Godric Gryffindor, whose bravery was known worldwide,_

_Rowena Ravenclaw, whose wits and smarts were fortified_ ,

 _Helga Hufflepuff, whose heart was made of gold_ ,

_And Salazar Slytherin, whose ambition was upheld._

_The four founders made this place,_

_But argued over what traits would be put in place._

_Therefore the four houses were created,_

_Gryffindor, where dwell the brave of heart,_

_Ravenclaw, where wit is valued most,_

_Hufflepuff, where the kind and loyal go_ ,

_And Slytherin, where the cunning only will find their home._

_I, your Sorting Hat,_

_Will have the pleasure of finding out,_

_At which of these tables you must be sat._

_Now that all you are gathered here,_

_Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff,_

_Let your adventure begin, but only if you dare._ "

The last line stuck with Dorcas for a movement, but clearly, McGonagall was willing to move on. She cleared her throat and called out:

"Allay, Claire!" 

A brunette girl with black moonlight eyes stepped up, seemingly calm and sat herself down on the stool, as McGonagall plopped the hat on her head. The Sorting Hat seemed to mumble for a little while, before finally deciding to sort the girl in Ravenclaw. Now Dorcas felt her heart beating out of her chest. She analyzed the four tables carefully. The Slytherin folk didn't seem very welcoming. The Ravenclaws clearly didn't want to be there, while the Gryffindors were waiting eagerly for someone to join their house. The Hufflepuffs seemed the most charming out of all the houses, though, and Amos was going to be sorted there, so Dorcas decided that's where she wanted to go.

"Black, Sirius!" McGonagall called, making the boy from the station rush up onto the stage.

The hat took only a few minutes before sorting him into Gryffindor, making everyone at the Slytherin table seem shocked. Perhaps, Dorcas thought, Sirius was from a Slytherin pureblood family, which clearly meant that he had crossed a line. This was not going great. McGonagall called out a few more names, before reading out Alice's.

"Fortescue, Alice!"

Alice gave one last squeeze to Dorcas' hand, before stepping towards the stool. As soon as the hat hit her head, it sorted her into Gryffindor. Cheers from the Gryffindor table sounded throughout the room, and Dorcas gulped as she saw her friend march proudly towards the Gryffindor table. Now, Dorcas was confused. It was either Hufflepuff or Gryffindor. But even the Ravenclaw table didn't look too bad. They did value wit and creativity. This was most definitely not going great. A few minutes later, Mary was called to the stand. The Sorting Hat took longer to decide on her, but in the end, it was Gryffindor. Without a skip of the beat, McGonagall called out, finally:

"Meadowes, Dorcas!" 

Dorcas gulped as she walked in front of all the other students, who were still waiting patiently, and sat down on the stool. She focused on her breath, breathing in and out, hoping not to faint. The Sorting Hat finally began mumbling, much to Dorcas' displeasure:

"You're a really difficult one. Witty, creative, perhaps Ravenclaw? Yet, you're by far one of the most ambitious ones here. Would Slytherin work?" The Sorting Hat suggested.

Dorcas didn't want to be in Slytherin in the slightest. They didn't seem like a merry folk. 

"Yet, you could go even further if we put you in...GRYFFINDOR!" The hat finally announced.

Dorcas' eyes widened as the Gryffindor table clapped. She walked past the line of students, and took her seat at the Gryffindor table, right next to Alice. Her embraced her into a hug, as the sorting went on and on. Mary, who was sitting in front of both of the girls, seemed unfazed, although Dorcas could tell she was smiling ever so slightly. Dorcas looked at the whole table, her eyes finally stopping on Sirius Black. They both looked at each other, for a second, but he looked away immediately, staring back at his two friends who were also sitting right in front of him.

As the sorting ended, with Emmeline Vance being sorted into Ravenclaw, the Feast began. Roasted turkeys were laying at the centre of the table, inviting Dorcas to dig in. Vegetable soup also seemed to appear out of nowhere, but Dorcas didn't feel like questioning it. She ate rather happily, finally feeling some sort of relief that the sorting was over. With a basket of Turkish delight, the Feast ended.

Dorcas paid very close attention as the Prefects, Kingsley and Donna Shacklebolt, introduced themselves and led the students up to the common room. They passed about one hundred portraits of wizards and witches, which Dorcas carefully examined. The only ones that really stuck with her were Hesper Starkey and Jocunda Sykes, and Dorcas made a mental note to research them more at the school library, perhaps in the following weeks.

When they reached a specific painting, specifically of a woman, who was wearing a fashionable, old greek style of clothing and a golden-leaf crown, Kinglsey Shacklebolt stated immediately: "Scorpio." This made the painting turn sideways, allowing for everyone to enter.

The common room had a blazing fire situated at the very end, giving it a seemingly homey feeling. A dark, redwood carpet lay in the middle of the room, right underneath red leather couches and seats. A few tables were laid in the corners of the room, with Wizarding Chess sets, as well as Exploding Snap. Dorcas remembered playing them with Amos after a trip in Diagon Alley where she had bought both of them. She was better at Wizarding Chess, rather than Exploding Snap when she played with Amos, but her gut feeling had told her that he was cheating, so she proudly refused to play with him until he admitted he had done so. Amos had admitted in the end, but hadn't stopped cheating nevertheless.

As the older students got comfortable in the common room, the younger ones were instructed to go to their dorms. The First-Years were told, by the Prefects, to make two lines, for the girls and the boys dormitories, in order to get their ties and timetables for the next morning. As Dorcas, Alice and Mary got theirs, from Donna, they rushed up towards their dorm. Once past the wooden door, they finally entered their dorm. A red-haired girl was already sitting in her bed, reading calmly, as the three girls decided on their beds. Mary was to take the one at the front, on the right of the red-haired girl's bed, more specifically where the brightest candle lay. Alice decided to go on the left, and Dorcas was left with the moonlit bed, right next to the window.

Dorcas lay wide awake, as the rest of the girls slowly closed their eyes. The moon was shining as bright as ever, and the stars mirrored it. Dorcas could spot a few constellations, from the times her father had taken her star-gazing in the fields of Devon. Her favorite by far was probably either _Leo_ or _Lyra_. Leo because it was the easiest to find, and didn't give her a headache, while Lyra represented a pretty musical instrument, which she had heard her father play once or twice. It was almost...magical.


	4. First Year: Charming Marlene

The first few days had gone rather horribly, especially for Dorcas. She had lost fifteen full house points in History of Magic because she had dozed off maybe one or two times. Professor Binns seemed to have it out for her. It wasn't her fault his classes were simply a bore. She had actually been looking forward to history, but learning about goblins fighting endless battles wasn't what Dorcas had signed up for. She wanted to learn about the magic history, maybe even how Hogwarts came to be, not whatever Binns had in mind. 

Herbology hadn't gone so well either, with Professor Tulip losing every single thing she came in contact with. A dragonfly trap had bitten a poor Hufflepuff boy, by the name of Davey Gudgeon, one of Amos' newfound friends. What was worse, was bloody Amos ignoring Dorcas every time they were together in the same room. Dorcas couldn't fathom what she had done to deserve the silent treatment. Only Alice had seemed to enjoy that particular lesson, even managing to explain the difference between most of the fungi.

Potions had gone rather badly as well. The Cure for Boils had exploded in Dorcas and Alice's face relentlessly. Only Lily, the red-headed girl, had managed to make a successful concoction, earning back Dorcas' lost points for Gryffindor.

Transfiguration class with McGonagall was the best that week. Dorcas hadn't lost any points in that class, nor had she managed to explode something. The Transfigurations alphabet was rather interesting, although It hadn't really stuck with Dorcas. Mary had managed to learn it by heart and repeated it every night as if it was her personal hymn.

However, Dorcas was actually looking forward to one specific class: Charms. It was rumoured that a retired Duelling champion was in charge of their teaching, and both Mary and Dorcas were buzzing to know who it could be, although Dorcas suspected it could be a descendant of the famous Alberta Toothill, a Duelling Champion from the Middle Ages, the first female winner of the All-England Duelling Championship, who was rumoured to have descendants more powerful than anyone could imagine. She was mentioned in a book from the library, which Dorcas had checked out right on the second day of school.

"C'mon! We don't want to be late!" Dorcas and Lily, basically dragged Mary and Alice through the halls, walking backwards, both of the girls eager to begin learning about the various charms.

"I don't see why either of you is looking forward to this." Mary shook her head, "It's more boring than History of Magic. I couldn't even get through half of the class book without falling asleep."

"It sounds brilliant, Mary. Just you wait." Lily jumped up and down.

The girls finally reached Classroom 2E, where plenty of Ravenclaw and Gryffindor students were waiting for the professor. Without looking, Dorcas suddenly bumped into someone. Papers flew all around. She bent down to gather the papers along with the other person.

"I'm so sorry, I should've been looking. I was so excited about Charms because I find it-" Dorcas stood up making eye contact with the girl who she had bumped into. She had blonde, wavy hair, sunshine-lit blue eyes, a soft rosy smile, rounded with dimples and bright freckles.

"No worries. You're that Meadowes girl, right? The dozer." The Ravenclaw girl chuckled as Dorcas handed her back the fallen books.

"Yea, it's Dorcas, by the way." Dorcas gulped, feeling a lump in her throat.

"Marlene. Marlene McKinnon." Marlene held out her hand and Dorcas gladly shook it, "Pleasure."

The door to the classroom finally opened, making the flood of students enter excitedly.

"Hopefully you won't fall asleep in this class as well." Marlene chuckled as she turned around on her heels and followed her friends inside.

"Embarrassed?" Alice shoved Dorcas jokingly.

"You bet." Dorcas shook her head, getting rid of the flooding thoughts, following her friends inside.

The classroom was neatly packed, with the teacher sitting at the back. He wasn't who Dorcas was expecting at all. The professor was rather short, sitting on a very high chair, finishing writing something on a burnt piece of parchment. There were three rows of tables facing the professor's table. Bright, transparent windows were opening the view towards the main courtyard, but were mostly blocked by two blackboards, with gems on their wooden borders.

"Welcome, welcome." The professor liften his head, welcoming the First-Years, "Do sit down wherever you please." 

Dorcas took a seat next to Alice, right in the middle row, in front of Lily and Mary. In the corner of Dorcas' eye, she saw Marlene sit in the front, in the middle of two other Ravenclaw students, a boy and a girl. Dorcas drew her attention back towards the Professor, who was now smiling, looking at every single one of them, almost trying to read them.

"I'm Professor Flitwick, your Charms professor. Now, don't worry, I don't expect you to be experts on the first day, although I am going to be asking you a few questions, just to see how much you already know. Would anyone like to tell me what a Charm is?" Marlene's hand shot up, along with Lily's. Dorcas knew the answer, from the Charms book she had read, but wasn't sure, so just for safety, she didn't raise it, however Flitwick had other plans clearly.

"Miss Meadowes, would you happen to know the answer?" Dorcas felt the whole class turn around to eye her.

"Well, I think a charm is sort of an enchantment, a spell that adds properties to an object or a person. For example, the Cherring Charm improves a creature's mood. An object that has a lasting charm placed on it is called bewitched, though charms, in general, appear to last longer than other spells." Dorcas stated, trying to summarise the first page, which appeared clearly in her mind.

"Brilliant explanation, Miss Meadowes." Flitwick nodded in her direction, turning back around, scribbling on the blackboard.

Dorcas saw Marlene turn around for a quick second, flashing her an approving smile. Dorcas smiled back, gratefully. Professor Flitwick continued talking, possibly about different charms, but Dorcas wasn't listening. She was flipping through the Charms book, analyzing which spell she could try as soon as the class was finished, perhaps the Wand-Lightining charm. It seemed the simplest one, which could be done without the help of the professor.

Suddenly, the bell rang, making Dorcas jump back into reality. Alice had already packed up her bag and was waiting patiently for Dorcas.

"C'mon, last lesson before Lunch and it's free period. I want to go take out that book Professor Tulip recommended." Alice grabbed Dorcas' hand and the two girls rushed to go to the library. Hopefully Madam Pince was in a good mood, or else they were done for.


	5. First Year: The Potter Boy

Dorcas didn't know much about Quidditch, but she was sure that it was way too complicated, at least coming from how Alice explained it. They were sitting in the middle of the Quidditch field, waiting for their first Flying Lesson to begin. Dorcas knew they would be using brooms, but it didn't seem quite right. She had cleaned the house plenty of times to know that brooms had no magic in them, although, this wouldn't be the first she found out something that didn't seem plausible was actually real.

"Oh, just you wait, Dorcas! You'll see the beauty in it soon enough. I hope to play for the Chudley Cannons at some point." Alice paced in between both Dorcas and Mary, who were sitting down calmly.

"You two hype these things too much. The only lessons that actually seem interesting are History of Magic and Transfigurations, not racing on a broom, like maniacs. It's worse than football and I DESPISE football." Mary scoffed, slamming her book onto the grassy ground.

Dorcas remembered playing football with Darryl when they were smaller. Sure, she wasn't much of a fan of it, but that hadn't stopped her from beating her brother, so many times that even he refused to play with her after a while, claiming it was getting boring. 

"Well you're a Muggle-born, Mary, you wouldn't know the thrill of it. Just trust me, and if you don't end up liking it, you'll only need to come to my Quidditch matches when I finally get to play." Alice smiled hopefully.

"Ha! If we last until then, with your aimless wand-waving, I don't think we'll last much longer." Mary joked, chuckling at the sight of Alice rolling her eyes.

Dorcas drifted her attention to across the field. This was the first time they were having a lesson with the Slytherins and they seemed a bit less sour compared to the ones at the Slytherin table. Lily was sitting with one, apparently, his name was Severus. Dorcas had laughed when she had first heard that name. It suited him; something about him was just off. His greasy and bulky eyes just warned the girl to stay away from him, although Lily didn't seem to mind, in fact, she was laughing right along with him, curiously.

Suddenly, a figure appeared in the middle of the field, and they were running towards the middle of the field. He was a rather old man, with silver strands of hair and rather a nervous look on his face. He smiled, before shouting, catching everyone's attention:

"Gather around students and form two lines, nicely." 

Dorcas hurried to stand up, running towards where the rest of the group was gathering. She lined herself up straight, with Alice on her right, and a brown-haired, baby-blue eyed Gryffindor boy on her left. Dorcas recognized him from the numerous times he had gotten a question wrong in Charms, despite it only being the first week. He was flaunting to his other two friends about how great of a Quidditch player he was, as the professor waited for everyone to arrive.

"Now," He began pacing in between the two lines of students, "You may know me as Randolph Keitch, although in class you should refer to me as Sir Keitch. Now don't worry, we're all new here, so we're all here to learn. As per introductions, I am a professional, though don't be fooled, I'm prone to mistakes just as well as you are. I have my own broom company, which is the types we'll be using this year. I'll be teaching you how to fly, just the basics, but I'll be looking forward to seeing the bright talent which I'm sure you all have." He smiled, darting from one student to another.

"Didn't you play for the Falmouth Falcons? My dad met you once!" The prideful boy next to Dorcas piped up.

"Ah a Potter, your Father was an extremely talent flyer, let's see if you have the talent of his." Sir Keitch took his wand out and, with a few movements, called plenty of brooms from a closet all across the field. They came flying, positioning themselves right next to the students, "Now, Mr Potter, care to tell us, how can we lift our brooms without touching them?"

"Certainly, Professor!" The Potter boy extended his arm outwards and calmly commanded: "UP!" The broomstick came flying into his hand at once.

"Brilliant, Potter. Now, class, if you will, please repeat Potter's actions." The professor instructed.

Dorcas repeated the boy's movement, and breathed in, stating, rather scared: "UP!" The broom came flying and hit her right in the nose, making her trip backwards. To make matters worse, one of Potter's friends was snickering at her, while whispering to Potter and Black, who had already managed to get theirs working, but Potter was ignoring him.

"Now, Mr Pettigrew." Keitch shook his head, approaching the group, "If you have the hopes of becoming a Quidditch player, as you said before, then you must know that teamwork is most important in the game." The professor turned to the rest of the class, "We help each other in this class, we do not bring each other down. So, those who have managed, please help the ones who have not. Mr Potter, please help Miss Meadowes. Everyone else, try helping your neighbour or someone who hasn't managed."

Potter rushed over to Dorcas, sighed lending out his hand: "Need some help?"

"I'm good, thanks." Dorcas huffed, getting up and brushing her robes off, getting back into her original position, and placing her broom, to try again.

She held out out her hand, breathing in, and angrily commanded: "UP!" The broomstick got up and smacked her right in the face, before getting back down. "UGH!"

"You're doing it wrong." The boy came back to her position, "You need to say it confidently as if you've already done it. Then it will happen. Broomsticks won't obey someone who isn't confident." He stretched out his hand and commanded the broom once more. The broom obeyed him immediately, rushing to his hand."

"Ok." Dorcas nodded, trying one last time. _I can do it_ , she mumbled to herself, breathing in and commanding fiercely: "UP!" As if by a miracle, the broomstick shot up, right to her hand, and Dorcas grabbed it immediately.

"See you've done it." Potter smiled. "I'm James by the way." He held out his hand.

"Dorcas. Pleasure." The girl shook it gladly.

"Sorry about Peter, he can be a bit...harsh." James chuckled nervously.

"It's ok. Although tell him if he does that again, I'm going to kill him, with whatever curse you wizards and witches use." Dorcas joked, and James laughed along.

Alice harshly pulled Dorcas away from James, as Sir Keitch congratulated everyone. 

"Lily doesn't like James very much. You shouldn't start to get along with him." Alice gulped, looking over Dorcas' shoulder.

"Who cares what Lily thinks? She's with Severus. Plus, being polite is human decency, my mum told me so." Dorcas shook her hand away from Alice.

"Fine, but don't come to me when she gets mad." Alice sighs, turning to Mary, trying to help her get the fibres from the broomstick out of her hair.

Dorcas looked back at James, who was now with the other boys. Whatever had made Lily hate him was probably just something small, who cared. It wasn't as if Lily dictated what Dorcas could or couldn't do. Either way, Dorcas didn't see her and James becoming friends anytime soon, seeing as he was friends with bloody Peter.


	6. First Year: Fearful Names

Defence Against the Dark Arts was probably Dorcas' worst subject, by now. Even History of Magic was better than this whole mess. Professor Iliad Wacker, who was rather unfortunate when it came to his name, was a whole mess. He wasn't well organized in the slightest and his class was rather boring most of the time, with his lectures. This was his first year actually teaching, after working with the Ministry for just some time. Before this, he had completely disappeared off of the face of Earth, or so everyone said. Rumours had spread around by now, of the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher never managed to keep the job for more than one year. The last time they did, they died on the first day of school.

"Right, so the spell we'll learn about today is Protego, and it's derivatives: Protego Maxima, Protego Totalum and Protego Horribilis." Wacker wrote with his wand frantically on the board, "They are all protection spells and should come in handy for all of you, in case you get yourself in a bit of a mess."

"Err, Wacker, what about Protego Diabolica, will we learn that?" A Slytherin boy, Damian Goyle, who sat behind Dorcas, asked mischievously.

Over the past two weeks, Dorcas had gotten to learn a few of them and none of them seemed like a merry crowd. Damian Goyle, Mulciber and Evan Rosier were by far the worst. They were their own little gang. They had, seemingly, bullied Sybill Trelawney, a Ravenclaw girl, who was rather peculiar. Dorcas hadn't seen them do it but didn't doubt it, as she had seen Sybill crying in the girls' lavatories a couple of times. She felt bad for the girl but didn't know what to do.

"It's Professor Wacker to you, Mr Goyle, and no, we will not be working on Protego Diabolica, since it's a type of Dark Arts and that is not permitted by the Ministry, understood?" Wacker eyed the boy. 

What if we need to cast a ring of black fire to protect ourselves, sir?" Evan Rosier who was sitting next to Damian asked calmly.

"I'm sure your parents could teach you so themselves, Mr Rosier, and I do believe they have used it before, no? Although the Ministry doesn't have any records of it, seeing your pureblood status, I believe it is possible." Wacker watched with a smirk, as Evan's face fell and the boy looked nervously towards the ground, "Now, we will NOT be practising these spells, as these are part of your Sixth-Year curriculum, but I do believe that it is useful for you to at least know them."

One lesson Dorcas had learnt this week: Purebloods can get away with anything, even bullying people.

"Now, could anyone tell me if you know what these spells maybe?" Professor Wacker's eyes darted around the room, probably looking for a hand raised or something like that, but no one, not even Lily, dared utter a word. Only Sirius and James were talking in the back row, catching the professors' attention.

"Mr Black? Perhaps you could enlighten us?" Wacker asked the boy.

"Well, I don't really know, but since Protego means _to protect_ in Latin, I'm assuming those spells could have something to do with protecting the caster or the object which the caster wants to protect." Sirius gulped as he explained, clearly nervous as everyone was watching him.

"Interesting analogy, you are absolutely correct. 10 points to Gryffindor." Professor Wacker smiled gleefully as he turned back to the class, clearly proud someone from his own house and answered correctly.

"Oy, Black," Evan called to Sirius.

"What do you want, Rosier?" Sirius seethed through his teeth, angrily.

"Perhaps that filthy half-blood Lupin has been rubbing off on you," Evan smirked, nudging Damian.

"Shut up, Rosier." James eyed him.

Dorcas didn't know who Lupin was. She had only ever seen Sirius with James and Peter, but then again, she hadn't seen them very often, considering Alice hadn't wanted to be near them and Dorcas had unwillingly obeyed her.

"Now, the Protego Charm is a Shield Charm, essentially, which just protects you from small jinxes and a few hexes. The Protego Maxima, on the other hand, that's the one you want to focus on. It's so powerful, that it can block two out of three of the Unforgivable Curses, which are illegal curses: the Imperius Curse and the Cruciatus Curse. Of those, you'll learn more in Fourth-Year, but again, a little more knowledge doesn't hurt anyone." Wacker chuckled to himself, as he wrote on the board.

Mary suddenly raised her hand, surprising even Dorcas. Mary didn't like DADA, usually, and just read one of the library books.

"Yes, Miss. Macdonald?" Professor Wacker turned around to look at her.

"Who uses the Unforgivable Curses?" Mary asked, trying to not make her voice quiver.

"Well, nowadays it's the people that stray with the Dark Lord: Death Eaters, they like to call themselves, although I don't think you need to worry your little minds with this sort of stuff. It's just politics, no need to get involved. But back to what we do need to get involved: The Protego Charm" Wacker nodded towards Mary as he turned back to write on the board.

Death Eaters? Dark Lord? Although the Dark Lord was a rather strange name, it definitely didn't make Dorcas scared of whoever they were. They clearly relied on names to in spite fear in people, and that didn't seem very scary. However, Sirius' face had gotten pale. He was gulping an awful lot and his pupils were dilated. The group clearly was meant to be feared. Alice seemed just as terrified, and she gripped on Dorcas' hand, as she wrote down what was on the board. Dorcas could see behind her, both Damian and Evan were smirking, clearly not thinking much of this. This all seemed puzzling: Who could possibly be fearful of a name?


	7. First Year: Soaking Heroes

The library was rather empty for once and seeing as it was a Saturday; it was very weird. Dorcas had done all of her homework, but she finally wanted to research the two girls she had seen in the portraits. Alice, on the other hand, was missing plenty of Transfiguration assignments and if she didn't want to get five-week detention, then she would need to start completing them. The shelves were full of new books, which always seemed to come in at the perfect moment. Madam Pince was in the back, unloading some dangerous books (Dorcas did not want to know what made them be considered as _dangerous_ ). Another Gryffindor boy was sitting across the room, holding two gem toasts, on one hand, and in the other hand, a small glass of chocolate milk. He had scars all over his face and a sneaky smile. Alice was already sat at the far-end table, sighing as she took out her quill and parchment.

Dorcas roamed through the shelves, repeating the names in her mind: Hesper Starkey and Jocunda Sykes. Nothing seemed to pop-up, however. She had seen a few interesting titles, like _Leta Lestrange and the Sarcifces_ and _Grinderwald's Horrific Tales_. There were thousands of books upon thousands of shelves and Dorcas felt like giving up. Suddenly, she saw it: _The Tales of Jocunda Sykes, The Magical Amelia Earhart_. Next to it, like some miracle, sat _Hesper Starkey, the Incredible Potioneer_. Dorcas grabbed the two immediately, proud of herself. As she turned around and walked into the hallway, she bumped into someone, sending the books flying. Milk fell on the books, soaking them wet, with two pieces of bread falling on them. Gem splashed onto Dorcas' robes.

"Look where you're going." The boy scoffed, looking dazed.

"Me? You're the one who bumped into me!" Dorcas shouted while trying to keep her voice down, "Now I'm gonna be banned from the library." She bent down to grab them and try to dry them off, somehow.

"Don't worry, come." The boy grabbed Dorcas into one of the rows, hiding behind the shelves of books, from Madam Pince.

"I wouldn't worry, if-if I knew how to fix them. And my robes." She whined as she stared down at her dirty robes.

"We're in a library, there must be something on it." The boy gulped, scanning the shelves.

Dorcas sighed, copying him, and making sure Madam Pince wouldn't come any time soon. 

"Got it!" The boy sighed, feeling relieved.

"So, what is it?" Dorcas pleaded with him, looking behind the shelves, scared Madam Pince would come any time soon.

"Well, we haven't done it, but it's a Scouring Charm. Apparently, it cleans bundimun as well. That's useful, you know my mother should start using it, although she is a Muggle, so I don't think she'll manage. Maybe I'll tell my dad to try. You know, we have a huge section of bundimun in one of the cauldrons- " The boy ranted

"No offence, but JUST FIND A WAY TO FIX IT BEFORE MADAM PINCE CHOPS OUR HEADS OFF. Got it?" Dorcas scoffed seeing Madam Pince come with the tray of books to place them on the shelves, in the _Restricted Section_ , which was behind them.

"Fine, sheesh." The boy rushed to get out his wand and try the numerous amounts of movements to get the spell to work.

"She's coming, hurry!" Dorcas gulped, as she returned to where the boy was standing over the books, trying to fix them.

"Scourgify." The boy waved his wand. Suddenly, soap and water came out of the time, splashing on the books, getting the milk off, but soaking them even more.

"You idiot!" Dorcas sighed as she grabbed the books and quickly stashed them into the shelves, as Madam Pince came with her trolley. She eyed them up and down, before passing behind them to the Restricted Section, a few shelves behind.

"Not my fault, the book said it cleaned it, how should I have known that soap and water would come." The boy crossed his arms, as Dorcas scanned the page carefully.

"It says: _Spell that cleans. WARNING: Uses soap and water_ , genius." She pointed at the passage before placing the book on a silver-lined tray next to them. Dorcas took out the stashed away books, looking at them, dreadfully. They were completely ruined and there was no way to save them now.

"Bloody brilliant." She sighed.

"Sorry-" The boy looked embarrassed.

"Sorry won't make them work again. This is dreadful. I guess I'll just leave them for the night here." Dorcas scoffed.

"I truly am-" The boy began, but then Madam Pince popped out from behind the shelves and approached them.

"What's going on here?" She eyed the two of them.

"Nothing." The two kids said in a rush,

"Hmm," Madam Pince finally looked behind them, seeing the two wet books with rather torn covers, "What are these?" She reached behind them and took out the two books; anger growing in her eyes.

"I'm so sorry-" Dorcas began.

"Detention, Miss Meadowes, this afternoon and you lose 30 points from Gryffindor. Don't think just because I'm not a teacher I can't hand out punishments. These books are completely ruined!" Madam Pince shouted at the girl, somehow ignoring that the boy was also there, "C'mon, perhaps you won't be as clumsy checking ALL of the files from 1900, to make sure we have all the books." The librarian began walking away.

"Thanks a lot." Dorcas spat at the boy, before turning around on her heels, and following the librarian, sourly. 


	8. First Year: Halloween Hassle

The worst possible way to wake up on Halloween is by loud screaming, especially if it came from Mary Macdonald. Dorcas' eyes opened wide open, as Mary shouted her head off, while Lily clutched her. They were both standing on their tippy-toes, as Alice was rummaging underneath the bed trying to find something. Dorcas got up worriedly, as she analyzed the scene carefully.

"What in the world is going on here?" She asked, rather surprised at the amount of chaos.

"Ask blooming Alice! She brought a monster from Herbology class and thought it would be a bright idea to let him go, free." Mary snarled, gripping onto Lily even tighter.

"First of all," Alice got out from under the bed, "It's Harold, and I've been petsitting him for Professor Tulip since she decided to go away for Halloween to visit her sister in Plymouth. He's a really nice spider if you learn to know him." 

"LEARN TO KNOW HIM? Are you out of your bloody mind? Spiders don't talk!" Mary shrieked once more.

"This one does. He's only a baby you know, so not much, but Acromantula's are actually really brilliant. They are rumoured to be ALMOST as smart as centaurs. And you have to count yourself as lucky Mary, at his age, Harold should already be eating a bit of human meat." Alice got back underneath Mary's bed, trying to find the spider.

"Oh just brilliant, not only does he talk he ALSO eats us?" This time Lily spoke, still gripping onto Mary.

"Not all of you yet, he's still a baby. Just a few munches, like biting off your finger." Alice exclaimed as she slid herself more underneath the bed, "Here, here, Harold. Found him!" Alice quickly slid back from underneath the bed, holding an abnormally large spider.

He had eight beamingly bloody eyes, eight hairy legs and a weirdly creepy smile on his face.

"Who's a good spider, you are Harold, you are." Alice cuddled him for a second before putting him back in a glass case across the room.

"You've gone mad." Mary scoffed, going to get ready in the bathroom, followed by Lily.

*****

The Dining Hall was full of Halloween decorations, with spiders hanging from the ceiling, and loads of orange pumpkins laid carefully on every House table. Draped along the windows, where festive flags, with small pictures engraved in them, symbolizing small creatures, which Dorcas didn't recognize in the slightest. The boys were all sitting at the Gryffindor table, with James and Sirius laughing about something probably stupid. Peter was laughing along with them, while rubbing his palms together and shuffling his feet underneath the table. The only thing which was odd, was a new boy sitting with them.

Dorcas forced Alice to approach them, as Mary and Lily headed in the opposite direction, eyeing the other two girls curiously. Alice sat next to the new boy, sighing, and Dorcas next to James, in front of the boy. Suddenly, she remembered him immediately. He was the boy from the library, also as she like to refer to him as the book-ruiner. He smiled, waving shyly. 

"Oh yea, Happy Halloween!" James smiled, his front teeth sticking out slightly. 

"Happy Halloween!" Alice muttered back, but Dorcas was distracted by the boy.

"Oh yea, Dorcas, this is Remus Lupin. I don't know if you've ever seen him, but he's only just become our friend. No offence mate, but he was a bit of a bother the first few weeks. Wouldn't talk at all." James chuckled awkwardly.

"I think I know Remus." Dorcas leaned back in her seat, crossing her arms.

"You've met each other before?" Sirius asked, munching on his Jelly Slugs, "Thought you were only in the library all this time, yet you socialized?"

"Y-Yea." Remus gulped, lifting his chin, as to show he didn't care.

Silence fell, as the constant amount of eating continued. Peter was the only one that was talking,with James' short answers here and there. Meanwhile, Dorcas eyed Remus, trying to analyze him. His scars shone brighter than the last time she had met him, as if they had been redone. That was peculiar, but Dorcas couldn't come up with a reason for that, which annoyed her to bits. Perhaps he was simply clumsy. Or maybe, he was hiding something. Whatever it was, Dorcas wanted to come to the end of it. She looked away from Remus for a moment, seeing James' fits form, as he looked in the other direction. Lily was talking with Severus, while Mary was reading calmly. 

"What's wrong?" Dorcas whispered, towards James.

"Nothing." James unclenched his fists immediately, eyeing Dorcas up and down, as if daring her to come up with an accusation.

"Ok, ok. Sorry for asking." Dorcas put her hands up in her defence.

What was wrong with these boys? Girls were way easier to talk to, than with them. Dorcas shook her head as she eyed Alice, apologetically.


	9. First Year: Let the Rivalries Begin

Quidditch season was rising high the month of November. Slytherin vs Gryffindor was going to open up the matches, putting a lot of stress on the players. A few had flaunted about their amazing skills and they were the talk of the school: the Slytherin boy, Francis Bohemié and the Gryffindor girl Leila Morthe, to be more specific. They were all coming from families with some sort of ties to the Quidditch industry. Dorcas was rather interested to see what sort of trouble that might bring.

"I can't possibly wait, especially for the Bohemié boy. He's of French descent and his uncle or cousin plays in the National French Quidditch Team! That must mean he has the talent running through his veins." Alice jumped up and down as the three girls walked towards the field.

"You sound like you have a crush." Mary rolled her eyes.

"I DO NOT! I'm just saying, this will be an amazing match. Also, the Morthe girl has pure talent. I saw her practising with the Gryffindor team a few nights ago. It was simply amazing. She's a Chaser and she dodged the Bludgers brilliantly. She is the captain, so that's a must, but's still impressive." Alice ranted, as the girls finally reached the field.

Crowds of people had gathered to the pitch, all sitting in the usually-empty stands. The teachers' box was high up above, and Dorcas could spot both Flitwick and McGonagall, along with Dumbledore and a few other professors awaiting for the beginning of the match. The girls ran towards the entrance, scrambling to get to the front seats. Lily was sitting by herself, with her bright red petticoat, making her stand out even more in the crowd. As the girls finally reached their seats, the stands began filling up more and more.

"You alright Lils?" Mary patted Lily, drawing her attention back to the scene

"Yea, I'm fine." Lily rubbed her bright red cheeks, "Just excited for the match."

"I suppose it is exciting." Mary nodded, looking at the pitch, still seemingly empty. "Where's Severus? Is he sick?"

"No, he's on the other side, with his _real_ _friends_." Lily pointed, towards the Slytherin section, harshly, where Severus was holding a small emerald-green flag with the House crest on it.

Dorcas immediately knew something was wrong. They had been inseparable for the past few months, at least to Dorcas' conscience. They were best friends, and this wasn't something best friends would do.

Suddenly, the two teams entered the pitch, leading to people clapping and cheering them on. The Slytherins were clearly for their own team, but it was rather amusing how the rest of the houses were all cheering for Gryffindor, having signs and everything. Dorcas spotted Marlene across the stands, and they gave each other an acknowledging nod. Both Marlene and her friend were holding up a _Go Leila!_ flag, and cheering the main Chaser on. 

Leila looked stunning, with flowing brown hair, bright green eyes and a sharp jawline. She had glasses and a matching, bright red uniform along with the rest of the team. The whole team seemed to have shiny, bright brooms which clearly hadn't been used for a long time. The rest of the team was made up of four boys and three girls. They all seemed confident in winning. The Slytherin team, on the other hand, looked just as fierce. Francis was in the front lines, right behind the team captain Steve Laughalot, and his headband clearly showed he was playing in the most important position: Seeker. The whole team was made only of boys, which surprised Dorcas. 

"Team Captains, shake hands." Sir Keitch instructed both Leila and Steve, as they reached the middle. Steve was ten times Leila's size, had broad shoulders and a smirk on his face. That unsettled Dorcas ever so slightly.

Reluctantly, Steve held out his hand, and Leila shook it, eyeing him down, clearly judging him.

"When you're ready." The coach nodded, as the two teams got into position. Alice squeezed Dorcas' hand slightly as the coach blew the whistle, starting the game.

The players flew high into the sky, rapidly and began following the balls. 

"Here we go folks, we've started the year with a bright start." A voice came from the teacher's booth and Dorcas suggested it was supposed to be the commentator. "Stevey Boy has gotten the Bludger and is about to throw it to someone. Hopefully not his own teammates; we don't want to repeat last year's incident." The boy's voice sounded through the field, as he joked. Dorcas couldn't help but laugh as well. Whoever he was, he definitely wasn't a Slytherin.

Steve threw the Bludger towards a Gryffindor girl, and she almost fell, but as she clutched her own broom, she raced towards the Quaffle. Another Slytherin boy began following her, but with a swift push, credit from Leila, the boy quickly lost his balance and fell behind. It quickly became relevant the Slytherins weren't going to play nice. Bludgers began being thrown relentlessly towards the Gryffindor chasers. The Keeper wasn't doing great either, with the Slytherins bombarding him with the Quaffles. Francis was rushing around, clearly trying to spot something.

"Glad to see the Slytherins haven't change much. Still playing diry." The commetator spoke again, "And there goes Vaughin pushing Wood. YOU CHEATING PIECE OF SCUM!"

"Frank." McGonagall's voice codemned the boy, through the speakers, and Dorcas could feel her dissaproving glare from miles away.

"Fine, fine, Professor. There goes Wood, finally getting away from the bastard." Frank sighed-"Frank Longbottom, I'm warning you." 

Leila finally began throwing in the hoops a few of the Quaffles, while the Gryffindor Seeker was looking around, searching for the Snitch. Dorcas thought she had seen it for a minute, but it had been just a trick of the light. Steve was now clearly not taking anything back, throwing the Bludgers like mad, towards anyone who could pottentially get hit by them. Vaughin was following Leila on her tail, and she decided to, rightfully, push him. Anger shot from the Slytherin crowd, but the coach ignored it. 

"Thank you Morthe, you've done us all a favour. Vaughin is now tailing Morthe, trying to get the Quaffle. And it seems he's trying to ge the Quaffle in. It seems, Morthe is standing up on her broom, trying to get there first. Let's hope she doesn't fall. She's leaning forward and... she leaps, punching the Quaffle towards the goalpost! 10 more points to Gryffindor, making it 79-80. Now it all depends on the Seeker." Everyone cheers, as Leila restabilizes herself, and goes to find other Quaffles, while Vaughin growled angrily.

The Seeker for the Gryffindor team seemed to have finally found the Snitch. He was going against Francis as they both raced towards it. 

"There goes Harris against Bohemié. They're both reaching for the Snitch, as they're diving in. Bohemié shoved Harris, c'mon, that has to be a foul. Nevermind, Harris pushed back, they're both so goddamn close. If that Snitch doesn't stop moving-And everyone brace yourselves...HARRIS GOT IT! GRYFFINDOR WON!" Cheers erupted from the crowd. Dorcas found herself standing, jumping up and down, clapping excitedly. 

Alice, Lily and even Mary were cheering on as well, as the players got back down. Dorcas saw Leila pat Harris on the back, as the Coach congratulated the Gryffindor team. The Slytherins , on the other hand, they were looking mad. All for Francis, who seemed rathe content with the results. Sir Keitch had to push Steve to shake Leila's hand. Dorcas could see Leila saying, as she smirked: "Better luck next time, Stevey Boy."


	10. First Year: Worrying over Letters

The Slytherins were rather angry at the dinner, much to Dorcas' amusement. Severus had looked particularly angry, Lily sat closer to the boys than usual, although didn't really engage with them. Dorcas smirked at remembering the scene. The girls were now in their common room, after having to celebrate their win with the rest of the Gryffindors. Dorcas and Alice were playing Wizarding Chess, while Lily and Marlene sat on the bed, painting their nails.

"Why were you looking upset at the pitch?" Dorcas asked innocently, looking up from the game.

"Sev said a few things before, with his friends. They called me a mudblood, whatever that's supposed to mean. He said nothing and told me to just go away. He's clearly got his priorities in order." Lily sighed, shaking her head.

"They called you what?" Alice suddenly got up, angrily.

"A mudblood...Is that something really bad?" Lily, Marlene and Dorcas looked quizically at Alice. 

"Yes, it is, obviously! It's used against muggle-borns and muggles to say how they have, um, mud in their blood, which of course isn't true, but some people believe that still." Alice explained as she sat back down.

"Severus wouldn't let them get away with that-" Lily gulped as she looked back down at her nails.

"Apparently he would." Mary scoffed, crossing her arms while leaning on the bed.

"Why would they call her that?" Dorcas furrowed her eyebrows, "Is it really that bad that she's a muggle-born?"

"To some people, pureblood supremacists that are, yes." Alice sighed as she continued, "For the longest time, people have had a hatred for them because they stole our magic or whatever. There's the Dark Lord now, that's rising, he's one of them. He's rumoured to be extremely powerful, especially having so many allies, many of which are pureblood families. My family is considered blood traitors for not agreeing with that."

"Are the Rosiers and the Goyles pureblood families?" Lily looked up.

"You bet-my grandmother taught me about all of the pureblood families, she was obsessed with blood purity. She'd be rolling in her grave if she knew I was friends with muggle-borns and muggles. I wouldn't know about the Snape family, though. She never mentioned them. He must be a half-blood, a muggle and a wizard parents which is rather curious considering he's friends with literal pureblood supremacists." 

Dorcas eyed Alice as she talked. She thought back to her father. He was certainly a wizard, although he clearly hadn't stuck much with it. From what Dorcas knew, she was probably a half-blood. This whole blood status thing was confusing, so she decided to ignore it. Ignoring your problems was a great solution, especially in chess. Alice had her cornered and it was almost checkmate. All Dorcas could do was make her last move possible. Finally, as Alice made the final move, the Wizarding Chess game was over. With a heavy blow, the girls all agreed to go to sleep; it had been a hard day, after all.

Dorcas fell asleep to the thought of Evan and Damian's wickedly alive smirks, in DADA, the weeks prior.

*****

As Dorcas, Mary, Lily and Alice sat at the far end of the table, eating their rather cold breakfast, the owls finally came. Dorcas wasn't expecting much, perhaps only a short letter from her father encouraging her to send more letters, but alas she didn't feel like much had gone on, so she barely wrote any. Except, today was different. Dorcas' owl flew in, lumpy as usual, while Alice was opening the new packet of sweets her parents had sent her. 

The owl let the letter down on Dorcas' empty plate gently, and the girl, resentfully, untied the knotted string. The letter had a small coffee stain in the corner, probably from Darryl distracting her father, and making the coffee mug spill. Dorcas chuckled at herself, thinking about this. Sure, it hadn't been too long, but she did miss her family, despite them being a disaster. 

_Dorcas_ _my dear,_

_You haven't sent many letters, unfortunately, but I do hope your having the time of your life, sweetie. Hopefully, you're not getting in too much trouble, although a little never hurt. I know you were probably looking forward to coming home for Christmas, but the Ministry advised against so. Voldemort, the Dark Lord, as you may have heard, is gaining more power, and it's really dangerous in the village right now. Don't worry, though, everything is under control. He will be vanquished as soon as Summer hits. However, I don't want you getting mixed up in all of this, so you will be staying at school with Amos._

_I love you,_

_Your dearest father._

_P.S I'm so proud of you, for everything. Merry Early Christmas, sweetheart._

Dorcas reread the letter again, making sure she got everything right. Why was the Dark Lord so powerful? What was he gaining? It was all giving Dorcas a headache. Alice looked at her up and down, worryingly, but Dorcas just shook her head, giving her a reassuring smile. The girl folded the letter carefully, before placing it in her pocket, hoping to forget about it. 

"So where are you going for Christmas, Dorcas? It's only a few weeks away. I can't bloody wait, I'm surely going back home. Aren't you as well Mary?" Alice jumped in her seat.

"Yes, unfortunately, I'll have to see my sister," Mary said coldly, still reading her book.

"I-I'm staying here." Dorcas nodded, looking down, not wanting to make any eye-contact.

"Well, this should be fun. So is Lily." Mary chuckled to herself.

"Don't be foolish, Mary. I and Dorcas will have a marvellous Christmas, even without you two. Right, Dorcy?" Lily eyed her.

"Yep, definitely." Dorcas sighed, "The best Christmas ever." She gave her fakest smile, but Lily seemed content enough. Only Mary was still smirking, clearly seeing through her facade.


	11. First Year: Christmas 1971

Christmas at Hogwarts wasn't as horrible as someone might think. Decorations had been arranged a week prior. Donna had come around to all the girl's dorms, taking the names of everyone who was staying over for the holidays, while Kingsley had done the boys. Lily had been ecstatic all through it all. She had even made special matching Christmas bracelets, using some leftover cotton from her sewing kit. Mary had even gotten slightly jealous, but after Lily had agreed to make her one as well over the break-everything turned out ok. One thing Dorcas wasn't looking forward to was the presents. Usually, that would be on the top of the list, but now that she probably wasn't getting any, it wasn't as fun.

On Christmas morning, though, something was telling her, that it wasn't as normal as she would want it to be. For example, Lily wasn't in the room when Dorcas woke up, which was very odd, indeed. As Dorcas opened the windows, letting some fresh air inside, she looked around the room, making sure Lily hadn't set up some kind of trap. After ten minutes of searching, Dorcas was sure the coast was clear. She got her Christmas clothes, which her mother had packed beforehand, and headed for the bathroom.

As Dorcas pushed open the wooden door open, she realized where the red-headed girl had gone. Lily was sitting on a stool, with one hairbrush in hand, and two ribbons in the other. Her hair was neatly plaited in two braids, leading down to her wais. Dorcas almost laughed at the sight of her, trying to figure out how to make the ribbons work. 

"Oh, hey Dorcy. You weren't supposed to see this. Guess I'm a bit late. I-I wanted to surprise you." Lily turned around on the stool, lifting the hairbrush and the other hair tools.

"And how exactly...?" Dorcas chuckled, unable to control her laughter.

"Well, you see, you always have your hair loose, which isn't bad at all, but I looked up in the library a few hairstyles for your type of hair, you know...really curly-and I found this book," Lily held up a huge book of hairstyles for every type of hair and how to make them using spells, " And well, I saw this nice one with ribbons, and I thought it'd be a nice try. And I thought I'd help you do it." Lily smiled widely.

"I know how to do my hair, Lily. I just like it like this." Dorcas shrugged.

"Oh." Lily looked rather disappointed.

"But, I guess, I'll try to do it how my mom does it, for once. She has even curlier hair, so this shouldn't be too hard. Also, that's the wrong brush, and if I use that, my hair will literally fall out. Keep that book away, for now, we don't need it right now, if we're doing this, we're doing it the MUGGLE way. I'm not risking anything." Dorcas rushed out of the bathroom, as she grabbed her own toiletries and rushed back in. 

"So, how do you do this?" Lily gulped.

"Well," Dorcas faced the mirror, as she grabbed her toiletries, finding a spray bottle. She opened the tap, filling it with water, "I need to split it into two parts, so this should take some time." 

She sprayed a bit of water on her hair, tilting her head back, all down her head, making sure to get the roots wet. With a comb, Dorcas began parting her hair, as Lily tried to bet the ribbons to work. 

"Thank god I washed my hair yesterday, or else this wouldn't work. Bare with me." Dorcas made sure to get it all even, or else the buns were going to look lopsided.

She detangled the knots, as she brushed through it all, trying to get it to work with her since it clearly had a mind of its own. When she had two parts, she finally grabbed an elastic off of the table, tying it off to the side, sighing heavily. It was probably already 8:00 by now. 

"This looks really complex, Dorcy." Lily breathed heavily.

"And that's why I don't do this often." Dorcas shook her head, as she grabbed the spray bottle and began spraying along her side roots, once more, making sure to get it everywhere, even on her scalp, "Pass me the curl conditioner, will you?" Dorcas held out her hand, as Lily looked at the bag, reaching into it and finding the conditioner. with a swift motion, she gave it back to Dorcas.

Dorcas finally began putting it on her hair, making sure to get it everywhere, so her hair would be easier to manage. She held out her hand one last time, "Ribbon?" And Lily handed it gratefully. She grabbed her hair and pulled it in, while brushing it, as she tied it all together with a ribbon, making a small bun. 

After a few more minutes, of replicating the same steps on her other side, she finally got two space buns, each held with either a green or a red ribbon. 

"Very...festive." Dorcas smiled to herself as she stared in the mirror; her dark-skin complexion staring right back at her. "You know, this wasn't such a bad idea."

"Maybe next time, we'll even use some charms." Lily looked up hopefully.

"Yea, no. I trust magic, don't get me wrong, but boy I'm not risking anything." Dorcas and Lily chuckled, as they began cleaning up.

After a while, with being done with the everything, Lily said: "We might as well stay in, we're way too late for breakfast anyways. I think the Prefects left some cookies in the common room." 

"Should be worth a try." Dorcas nodded, as the two girls left the bathroom.

The dorm looked like a mess, but they mutually agreed to deal with it possibly later. As the two girls, opened the door, they both saw Remus standing there, at the bottom of the stairs, about to knock: "Can I talk to you, Dorcas?"

"Uh, sure." Dorcas shrugged, as Lily passed both of them, getting into the main common room, and searching for some snacks.

"I just wanted to give to you something. An apology gift, have it your way." Remus, reluctantly, gave her the package.

"Thanks...? It was definitely...unexpected." Dorcas unpacked it, seeing _The Tales of Jocunda Sykes, The Magical Amelia Earhart_ and the _Hesper Starkey, the Incredible Potioneer._ The two books from the library, which he had destroyed and that had gotten her in detention with Madam Pince.

"This is just for you know, so you don't hold a grudge on me forever, though I don't care. It's just James seems to like you, and his ok, so you know." Remus gulped, remaining emotionless.

"Sure." Dorcas laughed as she hugged the boy, "Thank you so much."

"No problem." The boy pinched his lips, remaining stiff.

"Well, alright, I guess I'll forgive you." Dorcas smiled, and she saw him smile for a second as well.

"Well, see you around, I need to go do my Transfigurations homework, so." Remus waved awkwardly, as he turned around on his heels and rushed up the stairs, clearly in a hurry. 

Lily approached Dorcas back, holding two cinnamon cookies, very badly decorated to resemble a snowman or Santa Clause. Either one worked. 

"What was that about? What are those?" She pointed towards Dorcas' gifts.

"Just a few books. Recompensation for something he did...or bribery." Dorcas furrowed her eyebrows.

"Boys." Lily shook her head, sighing, giving Dorcas the other. "Cheers." They both ate the cookies at the same time, staring at the empty common room.


	12. First Year: Flipendo-ing into Detention

Mary was very excited for the beginning of the lessons, unlike everyone else, that freezing morning in January. Dorcas was passing over her Potions homework, done with the help of Lily who had gladly lent her the notes. Alice was in a rather sour mood, for no particular reason, although Dorcas didn't mind much. She had so much to tell, and Alice was willing to listen, even if her expression was emotionless most of the time. Dorcas had enjoyed thoroughly the holidays, with Lily. They had even managed to almost sneak into the kitchens for some late-night snacks, but the plan had backfired, when the Head Boy, Ted Tonks, had caught them, but at least he hadn't ratted them out or taken off points.

Now, with everyone back, the lessons were about to start once more, unfortunately, and Dorcas wasn't looking forward to many of them, especially History of Magic, with Professor Binns, but she didn't have to worry about that until Wednesday. For now, Potions was the biggest worry, and even with Lily's notes, it wasn't looking too great. 

They were sitting in class, waiting for Slughorn to come in and begin writing down the instructions for the Sleeping Draught, which they were supposed to recreate perfectly. Dorcas was paired up with Alice, as usual, while Lily was with Mary, sitting opposite from them. James, Sirius and Peter were sitting all across the room, talking actively, while Remus was just crossing his arms, and rolling his eyes at them.

The person who got Dorcas' attention though, was Snape, seated right behind the boys, who seemed rather displeased with the group of Gryffindor boys. He was paired up with Mucliber, as usual, though some of the other Slytherins seemed to be straying away from him. That was a smart choice, according to Dorcas, and of course, she was right. 

"What'cha staring at Snivelly?" James nodded towards him, scoffing along with the other boys.

"Just about your little blood traitor of a friend, Potter. Dunglicker they call him. Though the same could be said about you." Mulciber laughed, "The little black sheep of the Black family."

"Wasn't even invited back home. Pathetic." Snape snickered along.

"Shut up." Sirius stiffened, gritting his teeth.

"Oh, little black sheep is offended." Rosier cut in, joining in with the teasing, "Or perhaps the little dunglicker of a black sheep."

"Back off, Rosier." Now, Remus cut in, gripping his wand.

"What you gon' do, you filthy little half-blood? Not like you know any magic, barely can even read off the stupid board." Goyle jumped in.

Dorcas had noticed that Remus had trouble reading, but she just assumed he had broken his glasses or whatever-it wasn't a huge deal, Darryl had some trouble reading as well in school, but that didn't mean anything, at least Dorcas didn't think so.

"Wanna find out?" Remus turned around, slamming his wand onto the table.

"Oooh. The half-blood has got something to say, doesn't he?" Mulciber snorted, as he rapidly grabbed him by the back of the back, slamming him onto the floor. Dorcas gasped at the sight of that and instinctively got up, along with Lily, who seemed just as scared.

"Look, the mudblood. and her friend are going to save the day." Rosier seemed to laugh his arse off, as Dorcas grew insanely mad and Remus grabbed his wand, getting up.

"Flipendo!" She shouted, pointing her wand at him, throwing him off his chair, into the air, and back again, "Back off." She gritted her teeth, as the rest of Slytherins looked shocked. Reading ahead in the Charms book had been rather useful, especially when it came to these spells.

"Bloody hell." Mary widened her eyes.

"How did you-" Alice was gasping at the sight of dazed Rosier.

Before they could ask any more questions, Slughorn entered the room, seemingly done with his conversation, but taken aback, by the sight of Remus' bloody nose, and Rosier's broken bones and lamentation. As soon as Slughorn saw Remus and Dorcas, he breathed in before telling them off:

"You two, detention, after school. And 15 points from each of you; no violence shall be tolerated in my classroom. Now, Mulciber, do be so kind as to take Mr Rosier over to Madam Pomfrey, he clearly needs a bit of stitching up."

*****

Two detentions by now seemed like a record to Dorcas. Remus, however, seemed to have gotten way more, by the harsh tone of Slughorn telling them both off for inciting violence. McGonagall was also present for a few minutes, as their Head of House, telling them off even more harshly, although she seemed more disappointed than angry. Dorcas sighed as Slughorn set them a simple task, to write down the ways to make a Sleeping Draught potion, making them remember what they had learnt in class, without the use of their manuals. Slughorn, however, decided to leave the classroom midway, warning them to continue or more severe punishments would be coming their way.

"Bloody hell. If I have to spell _Draught_ one more time, I'm going to explode." Dorcas flung her head backwards, as she lent on the chair.

"I don't want to try and spell anything anymore. I think I spelt even _Potion_ wrong." Remus sighed, as he dropped his quill.

"Can I ask you something? Why do you not use glasses, as James does? You know about your eyesight problem." Dorcas asked bluntly.

"Well, you could've phrased that better, but it's cause it CAN NOT be fixed. It's a reading and writing problem, or so my dad told me. It practically makes me seem and look stupid while I try to rearrange the letters in order for me to be able to read it properly. It's really dumb." Remus sighed, "Muggle school was harder though, even if I did only go for one year; so I shouldn't complain."

"Wait you went to Muggle school?" Dorcas' voice piped up, "What was it like?"

"Aren't you muggle-born? You should know."

"Well, no. I'm half-blood. Mum's a muggle, dad's a wizard. My mum's been tutoring me my whole life, so this was a change for once if you know what I mean. My brother isn't magical, so he goes to muggle school, but I couldn't." 

"That sucks. Wait, does that make your brother a Squib?" Remus' eyebrows arched up.

"A what now?"

"A Squib. When a person born with some sort of magical ancestry, doesn't actually have magic. Since your dad is magical, then yes, he is a Squib."

"Is that something bad?" Dorcas gulped.

"No, well some people think so, you know those pureblood supremacists, think anyone who isn't like them isn't alright. Honestly, they're bastards, so I don't recommend you listen to them." Remus sighed, crossing his arms.

"Wasn't planning to." Dorcas grabbed once more the quill and began jotting down a few more ideas, before stopping, finally getting an idea, "Wait. What if we get revenge?"

"Revenge? Ok, I like the way you think." Remus nodded, smirking, "What else are you thinking?"

"Something like a prank. To teach them a lesson. Haven't done one, so do you have any ideas?"

"Oh, I've got plenty. This isn't my first time this year. You know, Snivelly doesn't really like me, because I _accidentally_ poured some Bulgeye Potion in his drink and, well you fill in the gaps. That's what he got for insulting me during the Quidditch. Although, I do have another idea for the Slytherins. You know, they do like to talk a lot of crap, maybe a silencing potion?" Remus suggested.

"You're brilliant. A Swelling Solution, right? I think Lily got an advanced Potions book from next year with all the ingredients." Dorcas eyed him.

"Precisely, a Swelling Solution. Bring that book as well, we'll teach them a lesson once and for all." Remus smiled confidently.


	13. First Year: The Swelling Solution

The Slytherin common room was...damp. That's the best way Dorcas could describe it. The cold air was brushing past both her and Remus, as they infiltrated themselves through the darkness. Dorcas was almost suffocating, as she felt the pressure of airdropping with their every move. They must've been underneath the lake, as she could see shadows of wild creatures swimming past the ceiling. Emerald couches were placed in the corner of the room, with a few wine bottles in the corner. They clearly weren't allowed in school, considering most people were underage. Pictures of old wizards were hung above the green-flame of the fireplace. Dorcas recognized the oldest portrait up top, which was of Salazar Slytherin. She had read about him in one of the books Remus had given her.

"Thank Merlin for Slughorn's extra supplies, or else this wouldn't have worked in the slightest." Dorcas pointed out as Remus was brewing the potion.

"Keep yer voice down, will ya? Don't want to get caught by those...monsters." Remus shot back hurriedly, as he dropped in a few more ingredients, one of them being the famous bat spleens they had studied in class, and mixed them in the cauldron. 

They were sitting in the very corner of the room, right in the gap between a cupboard and the wall. It was barely 10 PM, but everyone was in their dorms and it was silent, except for a few voices coming from the nearest room. There were three voices, as Dorcas could hear. One was rather harsh and sore, another sweet and vanilla-like, while the last one was a mix of both. As Remus, slid the solution onto a few treats, making sure they didn't look suspicious.

Just as the two were standing up, getting ready to leave, the voices came nearer and Remus quickly threw Dorcas back on the floor, as they slid their heads out to see what was going on. Three girls had exited: one blonde with dark brown eyes, another with the curliest black hair and a cloak to cover her face, while the last had silky brown hair, with pretty chestnut-coloured eyes.

"Bella, you need to go, now." The brown-haired girl told the one in the cloak.

"You might not want to help me, 'Dromeda but the Dark Lord is counting on me. I'm going to find the Sword of Gryffindor, whether it's tonight, or any other time." The supposed Bella shot coldly, her voice sounding a lot like Sirius', just slightly older.

"Dumbledore has taught me for years. If there was a sword, I would've known. You're just wasting your time. Go work for Tom all you want, but don't come to Hogwarts. There's Sirius and Regulus, next year. do you really want to hurt them?" 'Dromeda pleaded.

"Sirius is a filthy blood traitor-an enemy to the Dark Lord. He's friends with mudbloods. And since he's the Lord's enemy, he's also mine. As for Regulus, he'll figure it out. Don't act like I'm the bad guy here. It's good that people like Malfoy and Crabbe are getting roped in. We need numbers, after all. The little club they're holding is just the perfect thing, just the perfect cover." 

"Lucius isn't doing all that for you. He said he just wants a good future, and that's the way to get it." The blonde girl piped up.

"Oh, Cissy. A good future is the same as being on the Dark Lord's side." 

"Don't call me that. Only he does." Narcissa scrunched up her nose.

"If only you, Andi, could learn from Narcissa. Still hanging around that mudblood are you?" Bella sniggered.

"Mind your own business. My relationships don't have anything to do with you. They haven't for a long time." Andi scoffed.

"Ooh, I'm just looking out for you, little sister. Don't want you spoiling the family name." The girl teased as she rubbed her sister's cheek. Andi quickly smacked her hand away, clearly mad.

"Just go, Bella. I'm not going to help you, and neither is Sissy. I'll make sure of that. You may have decided to ruin your life, but I won't let Narcissa do so. Just have fun with Tom and stay clear of Hogwarts." Andi snapped back.

"What's the fun in that?" Dorcas could feel Bella's stinging smile from behind the cupboard, as the girl turned around and headed for the door, her cloak dragging behind her. As she clung onto the handle, she turned around one last time, "By the way, Mother and Father dearest have decided that it's best for you to just stay home after your N.E.W.Ts exams are over. Maybe you'll even get to understand the meaning of the Dark Lord's wants. Trust me, Andi, you'll join the movement, whether you want to or not." Bella smirked, as she turned around on her heels, heading out of the room, slamming the iron door immediately, making Dorcas jump.

"I bloody hate her." Andi's voice echoed through the room.

"No, you don't. Don't worry, Andromeda, she was just..." Narcissa tried to comfort her sister.

"She was just threatening me. C'mon let's go back to bed, so I don't have to think about Bella and her extremely foolish ideas." Andromeda huffed as she grabbed her sister by the arm, dragging her back into the hallway, which would lead them supposedly back to their dorm.

Remus glanced rapidly at Dorcas before both of them ran straight out of their hiding spot. Remus slid the plate onto the table, before the two headed out of the common room, not daring to look back. This was the third time Dorcas had heard about the Dark Lord, and she didn't like what people were saying. Her stomach was turned upside down. She felt bad for Sirius, worse than ever actually. His childhood had seemed perfect, all and all, but nothing was as it seemed anymore.

"Those were Sirius' siblings?" Dorcas piped up, once the two had reached the stairs.

"Cousins." Remus corrected her as they ran on the stairs, "Evil the lot of them. My father told me about them. A bunch of dimwitted toerags the lot of them, as Sirius would put it." Remus scoffed as they both reached the portrait.

" _Jelly Slugs_ ," Dorcas commanded at once, at the portrait swung open, the lady seemingly too tired to question where they had been.

The common room was just as empty as the Slytherin one, but it had a homier feeling to it, with the red fireplace burning. Ash was jumping from behind the grates, on the maroon carpet with little moving drawings of Godric Gryffindor's achievements. A few coffee stains were sprawled around it, clearly brand new. Whoever had done them, would get in serious trouble, probably.

"Well, goodnight." Dorcas shrugged, as Remus walked towards the stairs.

"Night, see you in the morning." He sighed as he lazily walked back up the stairs.

Dorcas quickly ran up her set of stairs as well, hoping none of the other girls were awake, so she wouldn't have to explain herself.


	14. First Year: Beating the Slytherins

Dorcas sat with the other girls at the table, who seemed to be rather cheerful this morning. Alice was talking rapidly about how Aconite was an underrated plant, whatever that was supposed to mean. Dorcas, on the other hand, was staring at the rather empty table of Slytherins. Only two First-Year girls, whom Dorcas recognized from Quidditch and Potions class, and a group of older boys. They were all dressed in their robes, except something about them screamed aristocracy, though Dorcas couldn't quite put her finger on it. The "leader" had short, wavy blonde hair, with blue eyes and a wicked smile on his face. At this point, all of the Slytherins looked alike in the girl' eyes.

In the corner of her eye, she could see the crowd of Slytherins finally flooding the Dining Hall. The other house tables began snickering as a few of their faces looked swollen, to the point where they resembled chipmunks. Dorcas had only intended for the boys in her year to get it, but the results were even better. She could see Andromeda and Narcissa were two of the few, that didn't have any marks on their face. They were standing poised among the crowd, flaunting their family name. Andromeda waved shyly towards the Hufflepuff, and when Dorcas turned around to see who it was, she realized it was Ted Tonks, the Prefect. Was he the boy Bella had been talking about?

The snickering continued, as even more people came in. They clearly had shared the cookies on the table. Snape had huge, red cheeks, which made Dorcas struggle to keep her laugh to herself. Lily looked horrified, along with a few other people, more specifically: the teachers. Slughorn looked incredibly worried, along with McGonagall, but Wacker seemed to struggle to keep his laughter as well. Dorcas turned in the other boys' direction, and sure enough, James and Sirius were laughing along. Peter was also sniggering at the scene, while Remus just seemed observant. When he saw that Doras was looking in his direction, he simply began laughing along with everyone else. The girl supposed that was his way of acknowledging the situation.

"Whoever did this has to be a dreadful person." Lily gulped.

"Why? They deserve it." Dorcas scoffed.

"Not all of them. Severus doesn't, he just made a few mistakes." Lily stuck up for her friend.

"Rosier and Goyle do. So does Mulciber. There's more of them that deserve it, than the amount that doesn't." Dorcas stated.

"But that doesn't make it right." Lily crossed her arms, leaning back, glaring at Dorcas.

"Whatever." Dorcas arched her eyebrows, "You shouldn't be defending them, but go on I suppose." 

Lily scoffed, looking back at the Slytherin table, clearly feeling some sort of pity towards them. 

"Dorcas is right, as much as I hate to say it. They deserve it. They're just a bunch of incest worm-brained dimwitted toerags." Mary sighed, as she continued reading her book.

"C'mon, not you too. Alice, you agree with me right?" Lily looked at Alice, who was still mumbling about Aconite.

"Well, uh, I mean, some deserve it, some don't." 

"See, she agrees with me. That must mean something." Lily snapped, looking at both Mary and Dorcas.

"That means nothing." Dorcas eyed Lily, who was starting to get on her nerves. "You're acting just like one of them, therefore it doesn't prove your point any more."

Lily seemed rather taken aback, by this. Dorcas regretted what she said, but she wasn't about to admit to that. Admitting to that would invalidate her whole point and she wasn't about to give in to treating supremacists kindly.

*****

The tension was high on the Quidditch field, at least between the girls. Lily was with Alice, who had gone quiet for now, both leaning on the wall. Mary and Dorcas, on the other hand, were sitting in the shade, in complete silence. Dorcas looked over at what Mary was reading: _Pride and Prejudice_. Dorcas remembered seeing it in her mum's library. She hadn't picked it up ever, probably because it was a romance novel. In the books where the guy impressed the girl, they got married and lived sadly ever after. It was always super cliché.

"You've read it?" Mary looked up.

"Nope. Couldn't be bothered. Not a fan of romance." Dorcas shrugged.

"HA! Yea, romance isn't the strong point of this. He's toxic and an intellectual, and she kinda hates him. Although they probably end up together, enemies to lovers and all that. The storyline is rather amazing. Austen always writes...differently. You don't see it in a lot of books from that age. She's making fun of society and how it treats women. It's supposed to be ironic. Elizabeth is truly amazing though, you know, women back then were supposed to be quiet and obedient; she's the opposite of that. It's entertaining." Mary explained. 

"When you put it that way, it sounds amazing," Dorcas admitted.

"I'll lend it to you when I'm finished if you'd like," Mary suggested.

"That would be...great." Dorcas agreed.

Just then, Sir Keitch appeared onto the field, the broom in one hand, and a silver whistle in the other. Mary helped Dorcas up and both of them ran to the crowd of students, while storing her book in her robes. The Slytherins were standing just as usual, opposite from the Gryffindors. Sir Keitch looked at both sides, trying to figure out what to do with both of them. Suddenly, he finally got an idea.

"Alright, today will be a bit more exciting. For those of you who will try out for Quidditch House Teams next year, I suppose we should make a few races. Everyone turn around, in your place, and face the end of the field. When I blow my whistle, you will each fly off, until the edge of the pitch, then right back. After the two players get back, the first one gets 5 points. Wichever house gets the most points, will win and obviously get all those points added to their House Cup. The ones that lose, will lose the points they gaines just as well. Got it?" Everyone nodded eagerly, as the first two riders got ready.

"3...2...1...START!" The whistle blew and the first two riders began flying, one Slytherin girl and a Gryffindor boy. The girl reminded Dorcas of someone, with her icey-blue eyes and flowing blonde hair, but she couldn't quite put her finger on who it was.

When they turned back around, the girl was in the lead, and as so, she gleefully won. The boy, looked rather sore as he got to the back.

"Better luck next time, Benjy." Someone patted him on back.

"Good job, Bohemié." The Slytherins high-fived the girl. She was the sister of Francis, of course. Dorcas should've realized.

"That's Celia." Mary whispered towards Dorcas, "Her family's got a fortune, and as you know her family has a long tie with Quidditch. It's rather impressive." 

"I agree."

Next up, was James and Mulciber. Dorcas was holding her breath, as the two began racing towards the end and back, with the sound of the whistle. They were going super fast, and it was hard to see who was in the lead, but in the end, unfortunately, Mulciber had won. James huffed, as he ran to the back. Things weren't looking good for the Gryffindors. Luckliy, as Sirius got on his broom and raced against Snape, he won. Peter lost, by a lot. And Remus had won as well, against Goyle nonetheless. Before Dorcas knew it, she was in the front of the line, and almost the last one. The Slytherins were winning, but only by 5 points, meaning that if both she and Mary won, they would get the points.

Dorcas got on her broom, looking over her shoulder at who she was racing against. Rosier. Bloody hell, this was not going to go very well. Rosier looked so full of himself, because of this, Dorcas knew she had to beat him. No way was she going to let the bastard win.

"3...2...1....RACE!" Keitch blew on his whistle, and Dorcas pushed herself off the ground and dashed through the air.

Dorcas could see Rosier just slightly behind her, but as she clutched her broom, and bent down, to gather more speed, he seemed to be catching up. As she reached the wall, she immediately turned and bent her knees as she pushed herself off the wall, flying back to the group. She pushed herself, even more, and quickly gained speed on Rosier. Finally, Dorcas rushed to the end of the line, landing carefully at the finish line, while Rosier struggled to catch up, but relentlessly she had one.

"Brilliant." Mary high-fived her her friend, as she herself got ready for the final round, and finally, Rosier reached the ground, scowling.

"Better luck next time, Rosier." Dorcas smiled sarcastically, as she got back to the end of the line, waiting for her friend to finish.


	15. First Year: Scarred Astrology

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW: Homophobic slur towards the beginning (1st-time Mulciber speaks).  
> CW2: Mention of child abuse, towards the end.

The three girls were waiting outside their kind-of-new Herbology classroom, for Professor Tulip, who was as usual rather late. They had to change the classroom for this lesson since the Slytherins and the Ravenclaws had managed to make a huge mess in the #1 Greenhouse. Dorcas and Mary were both examining _Pride and Prejudice_ , not really caring about spoilers. They had both agreed to exchange both of their Muggle books at the end of the term. Alice was sitting right next to them, examining her Aconite plant, which she was supposed to return to Tulip this week. Lily was sitting by herself across the hall, rather alone. James kept glancing at her continuously, clearly wanting to talk to her.

Leaning on the wooden walls was Amos and his friends: Davey Gudgeon and NishaTamboli. Nisha had glossy black hair, chestnut-brown eyes, a pretty smile and dark skin. Dorcas wasn't really friends with them, but she knew they had grown to be really popular throughout the school. Davey, on the other hand, was a short, tan boy who reminded Dorcas a lot of Peter all in all. Amos smiled in Dorcas' direction, acknowledging her presence. He didn't really talk to her much, not now with all his new friends. 

Suddenly, from the corner of the hall, came two Slytherin boys: Rosier and Mulciber. Dorcas glanced towards Lily, cautiously. Sure, they weren't on good times, but that didn't mean Dorcas wanted her to be teased for something she couldn't control. Rosier was smirking as he and Mucliber passed along the hall:

"Having fun, losers?" He mocked, clearly towards the Gryffindors. Dorcas flashbacked to the Flying competition; sure she had won, but Mary hadn't, meaning they had lost all of their points, while Slytherin had gained all of theirs.

"Shove off, Rosier." Sirius spat towards him.

"Look, Muciber, the Black sheep's talking." Rosier mocked. The nickname clearly stung Sirius, as he flinched. Remus eyed him, holding him by the shoulder, clearly telling him it wasn't worth it.

"Oh, the two pansies: The Black sheep and Loony Lupin. Didn't see that coming, now did you?" Mulciber mocked.

"Leave them alone." Lily stuck up for them, "Or-or I'll tell Sev."

"HA! Hear that, the mudblood thinks Snape has any power, whatsoever. He's half-blood-no leverage against us whatsoever. He's even lucky he has any friends, right Mucliber?" Rosier spoke up.

"Yea." Mucliber gulped, still crossing his arms.

"Boys." Tulip's voice remarked from behind the two, "Shouldn't you two better get to class? You have Professor Slughorn, no?"

"Yes, professor. Right away." The two boys nodded, as they ran off.

"Well," Tulip sighed, as she gave an encouraging smile, "Who's ready for some Herbology?"

*****

Remus and Dorcas sat in the common room. Remus was copying down Dorcas' Transfigurations homework, as he had no clue whatsoever what was going on. Dorcas, on the other hand, was writing her Astronomy homework, which was extremely tedious, as they had to draw the constellations as well. Sirius was seating next to Remus, practising his Charms for the class. James was probably with Peter on the Quidditch pitch, looking at the Gryffindor team's practice. Alice and Mary, on the other hand, were nowhere to be seen.

"D'you know where Mary is?" Remus asked.

"Nope. She's probably either in the library or in trouble." Dorcas sighed, as she copied down the last sentence.

"Hopefully not in trouble. We are second last for the House Cup and I want to win." Sirius huffed.

Silence fell in the room, except for a few chattering girls in the corner. 

"Where's the Sirius star?" Dorcas looked up from the piece of parchment.

"What do you mean you don't know where it is? Sirius looked appalled, "THE Sirius star. The brightest star in or universe?"

"Doesn't ring a bell." 

"Pathetic. Of course, you girls don't know anything about astrology." He rolled his eyes.

"Bold of you to say that when our teacher is a girl." Dorcas scoffed handing him the paper template, "You do it if you're so bright."

"Fine." Sirius grabbed the template and began filling out the table, handing it back to her, already drawn. "There."

"Not fair. Your name is literally the name of the star. By the way, why DID your parents name you after a star?" Dorcas grabbed back the paper, stuffing it in her books.

"Same reasons your parents named you Dorcas." 

"Because it has a cool meaning and your grandmother was called the same thing, so like an honorary thing?" Dorcas furrowed her eyebrows.

"No, well sort of. It's a name that runs through our family, just like how my dad's is Orion. That runs deep. My family has a sort of obsession with stars. You know, my great-great-great something grandfather was an astrologist as well as a businessman. His name is lost forever, but he wanted to name his brethren something memorable, and obviously, he chose the stars. The only problem with that is, well, at some point you'll run out of names, so then they either have to reuse them or change. My cousin, Narcissa, she was named after my aunt's favourite flower, since they didn't want to call her Bellatrix II or something like that. My mother on the other hand, well she simply called me Sirius III. My father's Orion the IV or something like that." 

"Your family seems way too complex." Dorcas sighed. She had barely found out her dad was magical, yet Sirius seemed to know everything about his family. Well, he clearly didn't know about what Bellatrix had said, but Dorcas definitely wasn't planning to tell him.

"That's what happens when you're a pureblood..." Sirius drifted off, looking into the fireplace, deep in thought. Dorcas looked him up and down. He seemed to have scars on his ankles, but they weren't as new as Remus' were. They seemed to have been done months ago. Silence fell once more in the room, but Dorcas had a feeling she didn't need to ask any questions to know that the scars weren't Sirius' own doing.


	16. First Year: Stressful Days

"What are the ingredients of the Cure for Boils?" Lily questioned Alice.

"How should I know? I'll copy off of Mary." Alice scoffed.

"Yeah right, the quills are against cheating. Special ones, McGonagall bewitched them herself. You definitely won't manage. Oh, but I don't know the answers either. What if I fail? What if we all fail?" Lily began panicking.

There were two more weeks until the finals, and everyone was scared. Benjy Fenwick had even fainted in the middle of Flitwick explaining to them what will be on the exam. Dorcas wasn't too worried, only about History of Magic, since clearly, Binns had a vendetta against her, so if it were up to him, she'd fail all of her classes. Apart from that, she knew most of the theory and presumed she could connect the dots herself. In all fairness, Lily was the only one really stressing out. Even Mary seemed rather relaxed, despite the numerous letter Dorcas had seen her receive at breakfast of her parents basically pleading with her to do well.

Dorcas had only gotten a postcard from her mother, wishing her good luck, although it this moment she surely didn't want any family member's pressure onto her. Alice had also gotten even more letters than Mary, with her prestigious uncle and aunt warning her that if she didn't pass the year, she would be disowned and sent to Durmstrang. Nothing like a little family love from the Fortescue's'.

The boys, on the other hand, seemed way more stressed. Sirius and James had begun to quiz themselves at the table, turning it into a competition, as always and it had gotten rather annoying. Peter had even vomited. Remus was rather laid back, although he was doing rather well as well.

"I'm going to break down. What if I faint?" Lily gasped at her speeding breath. Dorcas slammed her book shut, standing up and grabbing Lily by the shoulders:

"LILY! Snap out of it. You're not going to die. These are just some exams that'll pass. And even if you do fail ONE, they're not going to make you repeat the year. That only happens if you fail everything. You're worrying too much, you're brilliant at Potions and excel at the rest of subjects as well. Aren't you in that Slug Club thing?"

"Yeah..." Lily rubbed the back of her neck.

"See. Only the smartest people get in there."

"Well, there's Goyle so I wouldn't say the _smartest_ people." 

"Yeah well he's a pureblood, so granted he has to be there. But you're a muggle-born AND the best of our class. So don't even worry, you'll do just fine." Dorcas sighed, as she got back onto her bed, trying to finish her own Muggle book, that she somehow hadn't managed to finish in a year: _Little Women_.

"Hey Dorcas, you wouldn't mind doing me a tinnie tiny favour would you?" Lily rubbed her fists together, as she looked through her cupboard.

"I mean, sure, why not. Although I don't think you'd want to copy off of me, especially in History of Magic." Dorcas closed her book once more.

"Could you go to the boy's dorm and ask Remus if he has my Transfigurations book? I don't seem to have it and goodness knows I need it." Lily huffed.

"Sure, I suppose." Dorcas jumped off her bed and headed out of the dorm.

She turned around and climbed up the stairs to the boys' dormitory. They had a small panel on the door, clearly hand-made, showing that they were inside. Dorcas knocked, waiting for one of them to get the door. Suddenly, the knob turned, revealing James, eyes-wide-open.

"Hey, Dorcy. Can I help you?" James asked.

"It's Dorcas. Is Remus inside? Lily asked if he has her Transfigurations book." Dorcas explained.

"Right, he isn't in, but feel free to look." James opened the door wider, revealing a fainted Peter and a rather panicked Sirius.

"Well, clearly someone is stressed," Dorcas muttered as she looked on top of the cupboards, as James closed the door.

"What are you doing in here? Girls aren't allowed in our room." Sirius remarked.

"Oh grow up. I'm trying to find Lily's book and I'll be gone." Dorcas looked on the table, seeing an eye-gripping piece of parchment.

"Oh James, go give Lily back her book." Sirius teased.

"Shove off." James scoffed.

"What's this?" Dorcas touched the brown piece of parchment. It had written in red ink as the title: _The Marauder's Map_.

"Don't touch that." Sirius eyed her. "I thought you were looking for a Transfigurations book?"

"I am, yes." Dorcas nodded, finally seeing Lily's name in bold, posh, golden handwriting on the spine of a book. She reached up onto the shelf, grabbing it off the shelf in a rush, making a few other things fall beside her, "My bad." 

"Just go, I'll fix it." Sirius scoffed.

"Thanks, I guess." Dorcas shook her head as she rushed past a very embarrassed looking James and a still-passed out Peter. She closed the wooden door behind her, "Boys." She rolled her eyes as she began treading down the stairs. Thought were running through her head. She was rather worried about Summer and all that. No magic whatsoever, though she supposed she could keep a bit of contact with Alice and Mary and, if Lily wanted, maybe even her. Although that wasn't her main worry. Ever since she and Remus had decided to enter the Slytherin room, she had a few nightmares about it. Bellatrix seemed like she wanted revenge. She was working with the Dark Lord, whoever he was supposed to be. Dorcas never thought she'd fear a name, but here she was, worrying about whether or not the Dark Lord was going to succeed with his new plans.


	17. First Year: End of the First Year

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First Year is ending rather quickly for Dorcas...

_"There are few people whom I really love, and still fewer of whom I think well."_

_\- Elizabeth Bennet, Pride and Prejudice_

The exam period hadn't been all that bad, all in all. Dorcas thought she had done rather well, especially in Charms. History of Magic was probably her worst. She had skipped a whole page on accident, though it wasn't as if she could've answered it in the first place. Alice had begun bursting into tears on their Transfigurations exam, so her paper had wet spots all over the first page. Mary was just as relaxed as Dorcas, despite her forgetting everything on the Potions paper, while Lily had been a total nutcase in the weeks leading up to the exams.

Their older classmates felt no pity for them whatsoever, on the contrary, Donna had actually begun taking off points for the smallest things, like when Peter had accidentally tripped and spilt his milk all over her robes. Kinsley, Donna's brother, had been more lenient, but all in all, he was just as harsh, though Dorcas could understand. After all, they were taking the O.W.Ls which, according to Alice, were dreadfully hard. 

Dorcas was rather excited for the last dinner. Lily was pacing around the room, reading another library book, she had gotten just the week before, stressed, as she had to return it tonight, or else Madam Pince wouldn't ever let her hear the end of it. Lily had tied up her hair into two pigtails, along with bandana. Alice was braiding Mary's super curly hair, who was sitting crossed-legged examining the last page of Pride and Prejudice, before finally sighing, closing the book, clearly proud of herself,

"Well Dorcas, if you want, I can give you the book now. Keep it over the Summer, just don't lose it." Mary threw the book onto Dorcas' bed, by the moonlight.

Dorcas grabbed the book, looking over the cover. It was beautifully decorated, and on the inside was, in slightly small writing: _To Mary, my dearest sister. Merry Christmas from both me and Georgie_. It was neatly handwritten in baby blue writing. Dorcas looked over it for a moment, before glancing back at Mary, who was looking at her newly-painted nails, clearly not realizing what was on the cover of the book. Dorcas looked back in her trunk, neatly packed with the help of Alice. She jumped off of her bed, scrambling to find her own book in the trunk. As she took it out, she reread the back of the first one: _To my dearest Dorcas, from your father, have the happiest of birthdays_. Dorcas ran her fingers over the writing, as she glanced back towards Mary, as she sighed once more. The girl got up and rushed over to Mary's bed.

"For you." Dorcas handed her the book.

"Really? Little Women, huh. Haven't read it. Thanks. I'll give it back at the end of Summer, don't worry." Mary nodded towards Dorcas.

"Wasn't worried." Dorcas smiled back, feeling a sense of heaviness, but choosing to ignore it.

*****

"And yet another year has gone!" Dumbledore said cheerfully, as the students quieted down in the Dining Hall. "And I must trouble you with an old man's wheezing waffle before we sink our teeth into our delicious feast. What a year it has been! Hopefully, your heads are all a little fuller than they were... you have the whole summer ahead to get them nice and empty before next year starts...." He smiled towards everyone, as he looked over everyone's table, "Now, to get quick to the point, as I know many of you would like, the House Cup winner shall be rewarded tonight, to the most successful house, when it comes to points."

"If he keeps on talking in riddles, I'm going to lose my mind," Mary muttered underneath her breath, making Dorcas snort.

"Now, without any further ado," He grabbed the piece of parchment of off the high stand, "In the last place, we have Ravenclaw with 356 points." Sloppy claps came from the Ravenclaws, before Dumbledore cleared his throat, "Third place gets awarded to Hufflepuff with 467 points." A few of the Hufflepuffs were eyeing the Gryffindor and the Slytherin table, clearly angry at the results, though most seemed rather content.

"Second place goes to...Gryffindor, with 499 points." The Gryffindors all turned, as if in synchronization, towards the Slytherins, eyeing them up and down, "And our winner for the House Cup is...SLYTHERIN!" Dumbledore sounded almost sick as he announced the winners.

Banners, from the sides of the hall, flung downwards revealing the dreaded Snake as half the hall groaned, shoving their faces into their hands. Snape looked rather content, and Lily was clapping relentlessly, smiling towards him. Rosier and Mulciber seemed just as content, smirking proudly as Slughorn, claimed the House Cup, from a rather annoyed-looking McGonagall. Dorcas groaned along with Mary and Alice, while James and Remus booed. Sirius was rolling his eyes, with Peter sighing just as harshly.

"Jealous, Potter?" Snape seethed.

"You wish, Snivelly. Just wait until next year, we'll win." James threatened back.

"Ha! You and who? Loony Lupin, Pathetic Peter and The Black Sheep? Yea, good luck with that, Potter." Snape spat, as he began clapping along with the other Slytherins.

Remus scrunched up his nose, clearly in disgust. Sirius was just as angry, as well as Peter.

"Oh, he got the Marauders mad. He's going to regret it." Dorcas mumbled underneath her breath.

"The Marauders?" Mary eyed her.

"Oh, I meant the guys." Dorcas gulped, guiltily.

*****

The train was rather full of people by the time the three Gryffindor girls had gotten into their compartment. They loaded their trunks up onto the shelf. Lily was with Severus somewhere in the Gryffindor carriage, although the other girls weren't about to go looking for her. Alice began talking about all of her Summer plans, as the train moved rightly along. Dorcas laid down, her legs not he leather seats, resting as Alice's voice rung out in the compartment.

This had been a long year, no doubt, but Dorcas wasn't ready to go back home. Just the thought of having to only see Darryl and Amos for two months would drive anyone crazy. As much as she hated to admit it, Dorcas knew she would miss everyone terribly, even Lily with her terrible friends. Although, she could go quite a few months without the Slytherins, especially Rosier and Mucliber. 

"We will keep in touch, no?" Alice suddenly asked, drifting away from her main point.

"Well, I'll try, no promises though." Mary smiled comfortingly.

"And you, Dorcy?" Alice looked at the girl. The nickname usually hit Dorcas rather hard, but coming from Alice, it seemed rather comforting, just like when Amos used it.

"Obviously. I need to find out if you've destroyed anything or taken any spiders as pets." Dorcas laughed, causing Mary to erupt into giggles as well.

"That was ONE time," Alice complained.

"Who's to say you wouldn't do it again, Aly?" Dorcas smiled.

"Oh, so we're coming with nicknames now." Mary looked at the two girls.

"Yea, you'd be Moody." Alice laughed, as Mary slapped her lightly on the shoulder.

"How about, Darcy?" Dorcas eyed her.

"Am I really that annoying smart?"

"Yes." Alice and Dorcas both began chuckling as Mary eyed them both, before smirking just as well. True friendship, as foolish as it sounds, was the thing Dorcas valued most.


	18. Summer 1972: Willow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Song mentioned: Ain't No Mountain High Enough-by Diana Ross)

_16th of August, 1972_

_Dear Mary,_

_I'm doing alright, all in all. My brother's been bugging me all Summer to tell her about my friends at Hogwarts. It's rather annoying, but I know he means well. I really do hope you're just as excited as I am, to come back to Hogwarts. Haven't heard from you in so long, so I'm just going to assume that you're alright, but do please answer my letters. I think I've written over fifty so far and you haven't to ANY of them. I've finished reading Pride and Prejudice and I have to disagree with you. It's terribly romantic, and I did enjoy Ellizabeth's witty remarks. My brother, Darryl, he wouldn't let me read in peace, which is why I haven't finished it sooner. I do hope to see you not the train to Hogwarts, just please answer my replies as soon as possible._

_Your dearest friend, possibly,_

_Dorcas Florence Meadowes_

Dorcas signed the piece of paper, before placing it in the envelope, taking care to close it correctly. She neatly tied it up, placing it on her owl's leg, before sending him off into the distance. The radio was playing one of Diana Ross' new song, barely just one year old. Mrs Arabella had given it to Darryl for his twelfth birthday, supposing he was into music. It had ended up on the kitchen counter, and Dorcas had snatched it as soon as she could've. She wasn't super into the singer herself, but she did enjoy music, so how could it hurt to just give it a shot. Now, she was obsessed.

_Just call my name_   
_I'll be there_   
_Ain't no mountain high enough_   
_Nothing can keep me, keep me from you_

The actress was a complete glamourous diva and an amazing vocalist. She carried the tune beautifully. As the song came to an end, Dorcas looked at the time, it was almost five o'clock. Her father was supposed to be back in two more hours. His Auror job, as Dorcas had recently discovered, included him needing to fight hands-on. She was rather worried for him, but at the same time, obviously was proud. Her own father was fighting the bad guys and winning. 

"Hey, Dorcy!" Darryl stormed into the room, his shoes carrying mud indoors.

"Bloody hell, Darryl. You really need to make a mess, don't you." Dorcas sighed.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Just come on outside. Amos and Willow are both out-we're going to play in the woods." 

"That doesn't seem all too safe." Dorcas sighed.

"C'mon, please." Amos pleaded.

"Oh alright, you big wuss. Wait for me outside, I'm just gonna grab my coat." Darryl nodded, as Dorcas grabbed her coat, looking outside the glass window. It was almost sunset, but surely they'd be back by the time the night fell.

As Dorcas closed the studio door behind her, she ran outside, closing the painted yellow, wooden door. Amos and Darryl were both joking around as they laughed with each other. Willow, a girl from the village, was sitting on the little bench. She was short, rather plump with really dark skin, curly hair and a soft smile. Dorcas had overheard her mother talk to Willow's mother, about how both her and Darryl had something in common: they were Squibs. 

"Brilliant, let's get going. I want to catch some giants and maybe show them to Binns. Maybe then he'll leave us alone with them." Amos got a stick off of the ground, making Dorcas chuckle to herself, as Willow and Darryl looked them, rather confused.

"Our History professor. He's a nutcase." Dorcas smirked.

"Damn right he is. You know, he gave me a 50-page essay for the Summer to complete as extra, on top of al the other garbage he gave us." Darryl rolled his eyes as the four kids began walking down the path, leading into the village.

"So you two go to Hogwarts?" Willow whispered, making sure no one could hear.

"Yeah. It's pretty great." Amos told her, but as her face fell, he quickly corrected himself, "I mean Muggle school is probably better, at least you get food made by the locals, so, that's a plus." He didn't dare add that the food in itself was rather delicious at Hogwarts, as well.

"I mean I suppose. Although, I'm not a big fan of our school canteen. I'm not a huge fan of jollof rice." Willow explained.

"I am." Darryl chuckled, "It's delicious and I will not be taking any criticism." Darry skipped in front of the group. "Better than SOUP anyways." Dorcas felt personally attacked by that comment, so much so, that she pushed him jokingly.

The woods began getting bigger and bigger, as the four kids approached it. Dorcas' stomach was in her throat, as the four kids entered through the opening. The trees were rather slim, and not too high, so Dorcas wasn't all in all too worried.

"It's getting dark." Willow looked behind her.

"Don't worry. It's not like we'll find vampires in here." Amos jokes, as the four went deeper inside the forest.

Mud from the rain was still splashed everywhere, so Dorcas was treading very carefully, making sure to not get her boots too dirty, for she was the one that would probably have to clean them. Darryl was stomping in the mud, continuously, making Dorcas sigh exaspertely as she probably would have to clean his as well, as he would NEVER got to do so himself. Suddenly, a crunch of leaves echoed through the forest.

"I may be going mad, but did you all hear that as well?" Willow gulped looking around.

"Yes, unfortunately." Dorcas began feeling her heartbeat.

Suddenly, two beady red eyes appeared far away from the forest, with silver outlining, resembling fur.

"RUN!" Amos screamed as the two beady eyes began moving closer.

Dorcas felt her heels turn automatically as she sped up, full force into her ankles as she ran, not wanting to die. Darryl was just inches behind her, Amos being right next to her and Willow being far ahead. Dorcas' heart was beating, as she heard growls right behind her, but didn't dare stop to examine closer. She felt her held onto her petticoat as she continuously pushed herself away from the forest. Amos was squeezing her hand by now, dragging her behind him as the two ran hurriedly towards the opening, where Willow and Darryl already were, somehow having passed the two. The remaining kids finally reached the opening, and along with the others began running up the hill, not daring to look back.

"Bloody hell." Amos panted as he and Dorcas finally stopped in their tracks, close to the Meadowes' small cottage. Willow and Darryl were also extremely tired, so much so, that even they all just fell down. The adrenaline pumped Dorcas' blood through her body.

"What was that?" Dorcas sighed, closing her eyes.

"I dunno, but I don't feel like finding out," Darryl answered promptly.

"Agreed." Willow nodded.


	19. Second Year: Friends and Relatives

Kings Cross station was filled with muggles of all sorts, awaiting their train. They were probably going to their boring day-to-day jobs, having their repeating schedules which they should most definitely follow or else they were considered "failures". Dorcas for one remembered fearing that she would be one of them. She knew she wanted more, as she walked past all of them, Amos skipped alongside her. They must've looked weird, as people seemed to be staring and whispering, maybe because Amos' mother had left them at the front of the station, so they were parentless. Dorcas hadn't noticed this before, but she just shrugged it off.

"Excited, Amos?" Dorcas asked him, as they approached the 9th pillar.

"Just slightly. You know, Nisha, my friend, she may have these amazing sweet things that her mother makes. I don't know what it's called, it's made of rice, I think, and this stuffing. It's definitely the thing I'm looking most forward to, just saying." 

"Of course you're thinking about food." Dorcas chuckled lightly, as the two finally reached the pillar.

The two kids both rushed through the wall, hoping the muggles hadn't seen them, though it seemed plausible that they would've. As the two reached the other side, the huge black train greeted them, as it puffed out grey smoke. Even more witches and wizards were on the other side, holding their children, tears in their eyes, as they hugged them off. In the corner of her eye, Dorcas could see Sirius and another boy, who looked like the epitome of him. They clearly were brothers, no doubt about that. Remus was also with his father, right behind the crowd of people, crossing his arms as his father lectured him about something (possibly about not getting in any more trouble).

"Bloody hell, Amos. You look dreadful." A wide-eyed boy, clearly Davey Gudgeon approached Amos, "You like skinnier than a twig."

"You look just as dreadful, Davey. How you doin' mate?" Amos and Davey shook hands as the two boys took off in the other direction. Amos turned around quickly, waving towards Dorcas, and she waved back, rather awkwardly.

"DORCY!" Suddenly someone jumped on Dorcas, making her stumble and laugh slightly.

"Aly!" Dorcas smiled along with the girl in the bright yellow skirt and magenta skirt.

"What's up, dork?" Mary patted Dorcas shoulder as she reached the two girls.

"You should say, aren't you the one that hasn't been answering ANY of my letters?" Dorcas rolled her eyes.

"About that...let's just say I was busy. My sister's got a new boyfriend. Like the seventh one in one month. His name's Jack, or was it, Bobby. Either way, he's a jerk. He stole my owl, my ONLY means of communication, and lost it. Now, mother won't even buy me a new one, considering her last experience with Diagon Alley, where she almost drank an eyeball." Mary explained rapidly, as the girls walked towards the house. "He ALSO took my room for the whole Summer, as mother wanted to welcome him. He doesn't have a house, as I would've expected. My sister might just find these boys on the road at this point. And I couldn't go into MY room to use MY stuff, because he wouldn't let me. At this point, I might have to just move altogether to my dad's house."

"Just move in with me. I could use the company. I only have my snobby little cousin, Warner. He's going to Hogwarts this year, and I swear he'll be put in Slytherin." Alice huffed as the three girls got onto the train, lastly, and began walking through the halls, trying to find a compartment.

"Slytherin? But you're in Gryffindor?" Dorcas looked surprised.

"My mother and father were, while my uncle and aunt were in Slytherin. Warner will probably turn out like them. Mage didn't, but now again they're not even at home anymore." 

They opened the little glass compartment door, and entered the empty room, closing the door behind them. Mary helped Dorcas with her trunk, as Alice continued talking.

"He is ALSO very prejudiced. Hates Squibs and muggle-borns as well as half-bloods. He just hates everyone that isn't a pureblood fanatic, like him. Uncle and auntie hold the same views, basically, so as my grandmother. You know what Mary, we might have to move in with Dorcas at this point." Alice teased, making Dorcas smile at the thought. Having her friends over at her house sure seemed like fun.

*****

Dorcas wanted to just go to sleep when they arrived in the Dining Hall of Hogwarts, yet she knew that wouldn't be possible. She saw many familiar faces at the teacher's table, but one face struck out. In the place of Professor Wacker, sat a new teacher. He was old, which could be told just by how his beard was silver and looked exactly like Dumbledore's, though in Dorcas' defence, she hadn't seen many old men with white beards that were extra long.

"Black, Regulus!" McGonagall's voice suddenly woke Dorcas up from her daze. The little boy from the station that looked like Sirius was now sitting on the old stool, the Sorting Hat above his head.

"What'd ya think, Sirius? Will he be with us?" James muttered to his friend.

"Probably not. I hope not at least. He can piss off to his precious Slytherin friends." Sirius remarked coldly.

"SLYTHERIN!" The hat called out, receiving a round of applause from the Slytherin table.

"Told you." Sirius sighed, as he crossed his arms, clearly showing some sign of remorse, as his brother went to join Narcissa and the rest of the new Slytherins at the table.

Narcissa had now died her hair partially brown, only on the top, leaving her natural blonde hair flowing at the bottom. Her look reminded Dorcas of Bellatrix slightly, making her shudder. She didn't have her Prefect badge any more, but looked just fine without it. Andromeda, the girl sitting next to her, smiled as her little cousin sat down at the table. Snape, Rosier, Mulciber and Goyle were all sitting at the table, smirks and all, unfortunately. Dorcas hated just looking at them.

"Selwyn, Warner!" McGonagall called once more.

"That's him." Alice gulped as her little cousin sat on the chair.

Dorcas could finally see the little boy once more. Sure, he and Alice looked similar, when it came to the nose and eyes. However, his whole attitude was different. He wasn't as sweet, shy and kind as Alice was, he seemed rather arrogant.

"SLYTHERIN!" The Sorting Hat shouted, and the little boy gladly got up with the synchronized clapping of the Slytherins.

"Bollocks." Alice muffled angrily, clearly not wanting her cousin to be in Slytherin.

"We're on the same team here, Fortescue." Sirius rolled his eyes, still looking at his eyes.

"I-I just hoped-" Alice tried to explain herself, but Dorcas patted her, reassuring her it wasn't her fault.

After numerous amounts of students getting sorted, Dumbledore finally stood up, moving towards the centre of the stage.

"Well, here we are, a new year upon us. I wish you all the best of luck in your studies, and in all your private lives. Now, onto scruffy matters, we have a new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor," Dumbledore nodded towards the new teacher, "This is Professor Tutman, everyone. After the _unfortunate_ incident of Professor Wacker, Professor Tutman has offered to teach all of you, thankfully."

"What happened to Wacker?" Mary eyed Alice.

"Apparently died in Egypt. No one knows more than that." Alice shrugged.

"And the curse strikes," Peter muttered.

"That can't be real," Dorcas added.

"How do you know?" Remus looked over at her.

"Because I have common sense. Who would put a curse on a position as pathetic as DADA teacher?" Dorcas eyed the boys, "No one in their right mind would, anyways."

"It could be of interest..." Remus looked at her.

"What possibly could be of interest? Trying to stop kids from almost killing one another? Yeah, that sure sounds fun." Dorcas rolled her eyes, crossing her arms.

"She's got a point." James chuckled at the fight, "You three almost killed each other last year?"

"You're acting like you haven't accidentally jinxed me? Still have that blister, thank you very much." Sirius shot back.

Dorcas and Mary began laughing, as Dumbledore announced the beginning of the feast. Dorcas knew this year was going to be interesting, especially with the boys in her class this year as well. It could only o better from last year.


	20. Second Year: Fights and Detention

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW: Talk about murder towards the beginning.  
> CW2: A sexist word is mentioned.  
> (Note: Song at the beginning: This is my life, by Shirley Bassey)

_Sometime when I feel_

_Afraid, I think of what a_

_Mess I've made_

"Could anybody tell me what the Wigglewend Potion does?" Slughorn's hoarse voice sounded through the classroom and Lily's hand flew straight up.

"Yes, Miss Evans?" 

"The Wiggenweld Potion will heal most common injuries, although it depends on how powerful, as in fresh, is the main ingredient, the Wiggentree bark," Lily answered promptly.

"Couldn't have said it better myself, Miss Evans." Slughorn nodded towards her, as he began noting it onto the board.

"Told my parents about the mudblood. They'll get rid of her with a flick of their wand." Rosier sniggered along with Mulciber. Snape didn't dare speak up, despite them speaking so horribly about their friend.

"Piss off, Rosier. No one cares about your stupid prejudices." Dorcas snapped back at him, making sure Slughorn wouldn't hear her.

"Why, you little filthy half-blood think you have any say in what I say?" Rosier sniggered.

"Shove off and leave Lily alone." Mary agreed with Dorcas on this one.

"Exactly," Alice remarked.

"Oh, how sweet. The mudbloods and blood traitors are friends." Mulciber smirked, crossing his arms.

"Whatever would Warner say about his older cousin being a little traitor?" 

"Maybe he'll come and kill her himself. I certainly wouldn't want to be related to someone like her." 

"Talk one more time about Alice or Lily in that way and I'll murder you myself." Dorcas threatened her voice not in a whisper anymore.

"Now, Miss Meadowes. That is in no way appropriate talk in the classroom." Slughorn turned around.

"But sir, they were threatening to-" Dorcas began but was cut off.

"Now, one more time Miss Meadowes and you go straight to Professor McGonagall's office. Understood?" Slughorn raised his eyebrow.

"Yes..." Dorcas leaned back in her chair, huffing.

"And even Lupin. It'd be all that better if he were gone as well. That monster." Goyle chuckled, making Remus turn around angrily.

"You have a big ol' mouth, Goyle. Run it one more time, and I'll knock your teeth out, myself." The boy warned.

"Like I'm scared of you." Goyle eyed the boy.

"You're all running your mouths all too much for a day," Dorcas remarked, still having her arms crossed.

"What'cha gonna do, you harridan?" Rosier eyed her.

"And I'm done." Dorcas grabbed her wand and with a quick flick, she said: "Densaugeo! _"_

Rosier's teeth began growing at an alarming rate, leading to the whole class bustling with laughter. Only ones not laughing, were obviously those boys, their pride having been insulted.

"Good like trying to say anything now, with those teeth." Dorcas sneered.

"And that's it for you Miss Meadowes. Please head to McGonagall's office right now." Slughorn pointed towards the door, "And pack your things."

"My pleasure." Dorcas smiled sarcastically as she placed all of her books in her bag, as Mary fist-bumped her.

She left the classroom, feeling rather smug. But knew McGonagall wouldn't be as happy as she was.

*****

"It's been barely three days, Miss Meadowes." McGonagall rubbed her forehead, as Dorcas sat in front of her, holding her books close to her.

"Sorry Ms, but in my defence, they were tempting me," Dorcas explained. 

"Miss Meadowes, have you ever heard the saying: Two wrongs don't make a right?"

"Yes." Dorcas sighed.

"Do you know what it means?" McGonagall looked at her.

"Yes, but it's not even true," Dorcas told the teacher.

"Miss Meadowes I don't have the time-" McGonagall began, but Dorcas interrupted.

"What is supposed to make a right then? That's simply not possible. Also, whatever am I supposed to do to make myself feel better about the situation? I couldn't just let it go. Revenge sometimes is the answer." Dorcas explained.

McGonagall adjusted her glasses, before sighing and continuing:

"Miss Meadowes, next time, if there is one, tell a professor, or at least ignore them-"

"Yea but if someone insults me-" Dorcas muttered.

"As I was _saying..."_ McGonagall interrupted her one last time, "The boys will be punished according to Professor Slughorn's standards. As I am your Head of House, I will be slightly more lenient. All you have to do is come here tomorrow evening and copy the saying _Two wrongs don't make a right_ a few times. Just around one hundred times."

"JUST?" Dorcas' eyes went wide-open.

"You're absolutely right Miss Meadowes, you will ALSO not be allowed to go for the Quidditch tryouts, in a few days." 

"Wasn't going to try out anyways..." Dorcas huffed, leaning back on her chair, arms crossed.

"Would you like me to add more?" 

"Nope, nope. That's enough." Dorcas nodded, as she turned around to leave.

"And please, Miss Meadowes. Let's not have you have as many detentions as last year." McGonagall pleaded.

"I'll try." Dorcas smiled, as she turned around to run out fo the room, glad to have skipped most of Potions, as she wouldn't want to see Rosier's snobby face one more time.


	21. Second Year: Mad Political History

_“Whatever was said or done, I knew what I wanted; and that was to be a boy among the boys.”_

_\- In the Castle of My Skin, George Lamming_

Dorcas wrote down her lines carefully, scribbling the letters, rounding them nicely. McGonagall was reading her usual newspaper, with a bright bold headline at the top of the page: **Pureblood Supremacists Have Escaped Captivity**. Dorcas may not have known much about them, but she did feel an empty feeling in her stomach, dreading the feeling of their names. She stopped writing, squinting her eyes, trying to find some sort of information about it.

She remembered her father talking about it slightly, from the small amount of information he had given her with the usual persistence. Dorcas knew that he had been one of them from the team, which had captured the few. How could they possibly have gotten away? Her father had indeed suggested that they had someone on the inside, or they were rich. Either way, they could've gotten out easily, without a doubt.

"Problem, Miss Meadowes?" McGonagall clearly had noticed her staring.

"No, Professor. Just, how could the Ministry let them get away? If they are that dangerous, then why on Earth weren't they safely kept?" Dorcas gulped.

"Miss Meadowes, this is all just mad politics. It shouldn't concern you this much." McGonagall cleared her throat.

"Well-But my mother's a Muggle. My brother's a Squib. Does that mean they're gonna get hurt?" 

"No, most definitely not. They are just spreading propaganda. They haven't done anything bad, just the thought of it makes people fear their lives. I'm sure your mother and brother will be alright." McGonagall told her reassuringly.

"But-" Dorcas began.

"No buts, Miss Meadowes. Now get back to finishing your lines, I'm sure both of us have better things to do than discuss politics.

*****

Professor Binns looked like a ghost. Both literally and metaphorically; he was pale in the face, old, his beard reaching the ground. He even managed to look older than last year, and Dorcas thought ghosts didn't age. However, she still found this much more interesting than whatever Assembly they were talking about. Dorcas wasn't even really paying that much attention, and she very much felt like falling asleep.

"Now, anyone care to tell me what the M.A.O.E.W stands for?" Binns scanned the room, "Ah, Miss Meadowes, not asleep again are we now?" Sniggers came from the class, as Dorcas lifted her head up.

"No, Professor. I'm wide awake."

"Then care to tell us what it could possibly stand for?" Binns questioned her.

"No, Professor. Lily has her hand up, though." Dorcas huffed.

"Miss Meadowes. Board. Now." Binns threatened, and it was Dorcas' cue to get up and walk over to the board.

"Now, what do you think?" Binns looked at her, awaiting her answer.

Dorcas, from the corner of her eye, could see Marlene mouthing something: "T H E...W...A S S E M B L Y." 

"The uh-Assembly." Dorcas nodded.

"You're on the right track, although I did call on you, not Miss Mckinnon. Continue." Binns nodded, making Dorcas and Marlene go red.

"Uh, The Ministry Assembly of Eccentric Witches?" Dorcas guessed, resulting in Lily hitting her head on the table.

"Not quite. Although a Ministry of Eccentric Witches would be interesting to see." Binns humoured her, "No, what I was talking about, was the Medieval Assembly of European Wizards. Care to have a guess as to what they may do?"

"They, uh, possibly, maybe, write laws and give awards?" Dorcas shrugged.

"Absolutely correct. See where a little bit of trying can get you, Miss Meadowes?" Binns pointed back to her seat, instructing her to go back.

Dorcas sat back down, receiving a pat on the back from Mary, clearly understanding her embarrassment.

*****

Dorcas had managed to nip yet another number of her mother's books for this year. She was sprawled across her puffy bed, reading the first one: _In the Castle of My Skin, by George Lamming._ It was a deep-dive into the slavery and conolization of Barbados, though not specifically mentioned, by the British Empire. Dorcas had learnt a bit about it with her mother, but having come to Hogwarts, they were now learning magical history, so she had to learn outside of school just as well. G. probably stood out most to her, him being a direct product of his village and the society he lived in. It didn't focus as much on his individuality, as it did on the impact of the world around him, and Dorcas found it a rather fresh perspective. She was already almost done and it was only the first week, a much faster pace than she had ever had.

"What'cha doing?" Mary jumped on her Dorcas' bed, making her jump slightly.

"Don't scare me like that, Darcy." Dorcas giggled at the nickname, which made Mary frown.

"Alright, Dorcy. I see you take care of your nicknames." Mary giggled, along with Dorcas, who was struggling to keep it in. "What are you reading?"

"A brilliant book. Don't worry, I'm obviously lending it to you, but you have to give me back _Little Women_ , or the deal is off." Dorcas read her friend like a book.

"Alright, alright. You finish reading, and I'll try to finish annotating the book." Mary held her hand out, leading to Dorcas gladly shaking it. "Goodness knows, I have enough time. Madam Pince banned me temporarily from the library."

"Really? Why? What did you do?" Dorcas eyed her.

"I just annotated a couple of books." Dorcas raised an eyebrow, "Alright, alright, technically thirty books. She just discovered them this year, so now I'm in trouble for what my eleven-year-old self did. I'm not allowed back in until she's finished."

"Of course that's what you'd do to get in trouble. Pathetic." Dorcas rolled her eyes, sarcastically.

"Oh please. You made Rosier's teeth grow. Like that's more admirable." Mary scoffed.

"Yes, it is. I fought back, showed him my mind." Dorcas snapped her book shut.

"Alright, you have a point." Mary nodded.

"Of course I do."

"Don't be cocky. I'll get in trouble for the good reasons just as well." Mary promised.

"I'll have to see it for myself to believe it." Dorcas smiled, along with Mary.


	22. Second Year: Quidditch

"What if I don't manage to bat the ball hard enough? What if there are better people than me? What if I DO get in, but then people are too good and I just suck?" Alice was shaking as both Dorcas and Mary were sitting next to her on the benches. She was wearing her Flying uniform, which looked rather tattered from last year.

"The what-ifs aren't helping you in the slightest, Alice. Just go out there, and show them how good at Quidditch a Fortescue really is." Dorcas patted her friend on the back.

"But-but-but rumour has it that James Potter gonna play for Gryffindor as well. What in Merlin's world do I do then?" Alice rubbed her hands together, shaking furiously.

"You go and show the guy how amazing you truly are." Mary encouraged her, "Plus you just need to believe in yourself, Aly, it's not too hard. Also, I and Dorcy be cheering you on from the sidelines, so if anyone says anything bad, they're gonna hear from us too." Mary took out her wand to prove it.

"You-you're right." Alice finally seemed to have some faith in herself, when Frank Longbottom came in.

"C'mon, you ready? They're calling out everyone right now." He eyed her, as Alice got up, gave a shy thumbs up to both Dorcas and Mary who were holding up in exchange their fingers crossed.

"Someone's gonna kill her, right?" Mary muttered while Alice and Frank were already yon the pitch.

"Probably, but we'll be there to kill them back, so it's all fair and square in the game of Quidditch I suppose." Dorcas shrugged, receiving a soft blow from Mary, as the two followed the players.

*****

As far as Dorcas could tell, the competition was fierce. James and Sirius were both trying out, and compared to them, Alice looked like a gawky stick, who was about to vomit. Leila Morthe, the team captain, was standing along with Livi Wood, her best friend and the vice-captain of the team. Livi had a short buzzcut and sapphire eyes, and a rather sturdy body type, at least from what Dorcas could tell. She was moving her feet quite a lot, showing clear signs of distress. Her and Leila were the strongest players on the field, by far. Next to them, obviously was Blake Thomas, Frank's best mate. Dorcas knew most of the people from the field, from gossip and whispering in the halls. Being attentive and a small First-Year had its advantages, especially when it came to eaves-dropping.

"Alright, team." Leila blew on her whistle, signalling the beginning of the choosing process, "Who's ready to show they Gryffindor pride?" Cheers and claps came from the team, the loudest by far coming from Sirius and James.

"Right, brilliant." Leila nodded, not sparing any time, "Well, first off introductions. As you may very well know I'm the captain, as well as a Chaser, so you'll be listening to me when it comes to tactics and you most definitely won't go rogue, on my watch. Livi's the co-cap. She keeps the notes and is the fiercest Keeper we have. Blake," Leila pointed towards the short and slim boy next to Frank, "That's one of our Beaters. That spot will need to be filled, as well as others. If you're still not caught up there's five total positions in Quidditch: the Chasers, we basically chase the Quaffle and pray that it goes in our favour; the Beaters, also known as the most aggressive bitches you'll ever meet." This resulted in a clear scoff and eye-roll from Blake, "Obviously the Keeper, which we already have, Livi Wood, the best one yet." Livi took a shy bow, making Leila chuckle ever so slightly, "And of course, the star of the show, our beloved Seeker. The one who determines if we win or not. Lastly, our referee for today will be Frank since he commentates quite a lot, even when not needed." Leila glared at him, before moving along.

"Now that we're done with the basics, let's get right into it. Today will be rather simple for you all, you can thank my girlfriend, Wood for that since she's the one who convinced me to go soft for y'all." Livi blushed really hard, as Leila smirked before continuing, "Based on whichever position you are willing to try for, the challenges will be different. Of course, whoever does their best in those challenges, gets the position. Got it?" Everyone nodded."Alrighty then, Livi, who's up first?" Leila nodded towards her teammate.

"The Beaters." Livi nodded, tracing the names on her list, "So, Alice Fortescue, Lia Rowle and Sirius Black. You two ready?"

"Yeah." The three gulped, as they stepped forward.

Dorcas felt Mary squeezed her hand, making Dorcas' stomach clench. She knew how much Alice wanted this.

"Alright then, you two grab your brooms and get up there. It'll be really simple, you just have to get up there, and the cannonball will send you Bludgers. You have to redirect them towards the dummies, also up there. Easy peasy lemon squeezy. You got it?" Leila looked at the two beginners. Alice nodded, clearly holding in her breath, while Sirius was standing there, confidently.

The two second-years and the burly fourth-year all rose up. The cannons immediately began shooting, resulting in both Dorcas and Mary flinching terribly. A few other Gryffindors were also rather scared for their friend. Peter, especially. He was holding his knuckles together, praying for Sirius. Remus, on the other hand, was also on the edge of his seat. After a few rounds, though, Alice was beginning to get the gist of it. She was brilliant at dodging all the cannons, even managing to hit almost ten back towards the dummies. Lia was in deep trouble, having almost fallen off her broom, at least, seven times. Sirius was doing alright, but compared to Alice, he wasn't all that great.

"Bloody hell, didn't know Fortescue had it in her." A voice came from behind the two girls, it was Frank, sitting on the bench, clearly observing the girl.

"Yeah, she's brilliant." Mary nodded, looking proudly at her friend.

"You're damn right, she is." Frank sighed, clearly amazed by her talent.

After a few more minutes, they finally got back down. Next up, were the Chasers. There were plenty of them, fifth, fourth and third years. A few sixth years here and there, but James was the only second-year. Despite all this, Dorcas was rather surprised at how fast James had managed to throw and catch the Quaffles. He was clearly the best choice for that position. Lastly were the Seekers, and that had been another tight race, though Dorcas wasn't too sure who had won.

The players soon had to go change once more, and it was Dorcas and Mary's cue to leave the stands.

"I did it!" Alice jumped up and down as soon as her friends entered the room, jumping up to cling to them by the necks.

"Told you." Mary pushed her jokingly.

"Yeah, next time you need to trust us more." Dorcas smiled. "I'm sure your family's proud of you."

"I s'ppose. Uncle and Aunt won't be too pleased, me stealing the spotlight from little weeny Warner, which makes this so much better." Alice chuckled, along with Dorcas and Mary, before throwing Mary her spare clothes, "C'mon, you need to keep the door closed, I don't want anyone peeking." Alice basically dragged complaining Mary into the bathroom.

Lia Rowle was sitting in the corner, clearly frustrated with herself. She was slamming things into her bag over and over again.

"LIA!" A boy, clearly a Slytherin, entered the room. "Look, sis, you'll do better next time."

"I was beaten by a second-year! It's pathetic." Lia spat at her brother, as Dorcas pretended not to notice the argument.

"Oh bother, just grow up. Dad won't kill you." The boy shrugged.

"He was already mad with me making bloody Gryffindor. Now I can't even play Quidditch! Wait until he hears Fortescue beat me." She rolled her eyes, crossing her arms.

"Shut up, shut up, for once." The boy clearly pointed towards Dorcas, who had her back turned but could feel the silence hitting her.

"Alright, Finn. I'll shut up. Go have fun with Malfoy, and leave me alone." Lia pushed past her brother, before slamming the changing room door shut.

Dorcas slightly turned around, eyeing the boy. He had bright blonde hair, brown eyes and was fair-skinned. 

"What're you staring at? You pesky little second-year." He growled.

"Well, this IS the girl's locker room, and it does seem a little predatory that you're in here. So, please, get out." Dorcas huffed, glaring at him.

"D'you even know who I am?" His nostrils flared up.

"A trespasser?" Dorcas smiled sorely.

"Little advice: Don't talk like that to your superiors." He showed his Prefect badge, before turning around and leaving the locker room.

"Hope he didn't mean himself." Mary scoffed as she got back out from the bathroom, along with Alice.

"That's Rowle, pureblood. The bad kind." Alice gulped.

"Of course, what did I even expect?" Dorcas shook her head, rolling her eyes.


	23. Second Year: Arrangements

Defence Against the Dark Arts sure was a peculiar subject, at least with Professor Tutman. He had travelled the whole world, finding mysterious creatures, such as the Yetis and managing to spend time with them. He seemed more experienced than Wacker and less strict. However, he favoured students from his own house way too much, so much so that it was beginning to be unfair. 

"Who can tell me what a werewolf is?" He sat at his desk, very Dumbledore-like.

"Uncontrollable monsters." Rosier sniggered.

"Not far off, Rosier." Tutman nodded, "Though, I would've liked a more scientific approach." 

Goyle raised his hand up, surprisingly.

"Mr Goyle?" Tutman looked over towards the boy.

"They're normal 'umans, except they've got fur and were bitten at birth. They kill everything and everyone they touch, especially at the full moon." Goyle explained.

"Correct. They're beings who should be avoided at all costs." Tutman scribbled across the board.

Dorcas quickly raised her hand, as the silence overcame the class.

"Miss Meadowes? Care to comment?" Tutman eyed her, as he turned back around.

"Yes, actually. If they're beings, just like us, why should they be avoided? They're just like us, they just change shape every month. Not much different, no?" Dorcas questioned.

"Of course you'd defend them." Rosier leaned back on his chair, mumbling.

"Now, now Mr Rosier, we must hear everyone's opinions, although there's no saying some just can't be wrong. To word it simply for you, Miss Meadowes, half-breeds are dangerous for us purebloods." Tutman tutted.

"Oh, of course, my bad. I forgot how purebloods discriminate against everyone, to prove their superiority." Dorcas sighed sarcastically, making Mary snicker. "I suppose for the rest of us, we can live with them peacefully, got it."

"Moving right along..." Tutman gulped as he turned around, continuing to write.

"Pathetic excuse, Meadowes. Didn't knew you were on their side, the awful creatures." Rosier rolled his eyes.

"I'm sorry I just want people to have rights, or at least be treated decently. My bad." Dorcas scoffed once more, turning around, to face the boy.

"You're disgusting." He snarled.

"So are you." Dorcas smiled sourly, before turning around to face the teacher once more.

*****

Sundays were rather relaxing for Dorcas, having done her homework. She was sitting along with Mary underneath the tree, both of them reading. Dorcas had finally finished Jocunda Sykes' biography and was now on to Hesper Starkey. Her astrology ways were deeply impressive, her having discovered quite a few constellations, including the Crab, supposedly representing Cancer. The brightest star, _Asellus Australis_ , being a huge source of energy. Apparently, depending on which phase the moon was in, when it connected with the star, it would have a special effect on the potion.

"Ok, Harriet spies is weird." Mary slapped the book shut.

"So you don't recommend it?" Dorcas eyed her.

"No, of course, I do. It's just, not personally for me." She shrugged.

"We have the same taste, Mary. If you don't like something, I probably won't." Dorcas chuckled. 

"ANDI!" Narcissa Black's voice echoed through the courtyard, making both Mary and Dorcas flinch.

"Shove off." Andromeda Black was running, clearly away from her sister.

"Andi, please. I didn't mean it-" Narcissa stuttered.

"No, no you did." Andromeda scoffed, "Just leave me alone."

"Andi!" Narcissa grabbed her sister by the arm and twisted her around, to look at her, "Look at me!"

"Why should I? Am I not a filthy blood traitor? Were you not planning to marry me off along with Mother and Father? Or did I hear that wrong?" Andromeda scoffed, shaking her head, furiously.

"Stop it! You know it's for your own good." Narcissa rolled her eyes. "You're with that-that mudblood every day of the week."

"What did you just call Ted?" Andromeda's nostrils flared up.

"Andi-"

"Will you listen to anyone besides yourself?" Andromeda's voice broke.

"I want what's best for you, so does Father." Narcissa tried to smile reassuringly.

"Father's precious little girl. Right? You're pathetic. Get this through your head, Sissy, because no one else will tell you: You don't get to just mould people into what you want them to be." With that, Andromeda stormed off, leaving Narcissa by herself on the field. Malfoy and Rowle quickly caught up with her. Malfoy comforted her, as Rowle took out his wand, instinctively.

"Bloody hell," Mary mumbled.

"You can say that again." Dorcas huffed, feeling rather distressed.


	24. Second Year: New Rivalries

The first Quidditch match of the season was Ravenclaw vs Gryffindor. Alice was pumped, having trained weekly and even in the dorm, way past bedtime. Dorcas knew Alice was nervous, and much as she wanted to be there for her friend, she also wanted some sleep. This caused a bit of tension within the roommates. Dorcas and Mary pleading with Alice to tone it down a bit. Despite this, with the match coming sooner and sooner, Alice had stayed up even later, making the rest of the girls only get about two hours of sleep.

"Finally, today we can say goodbye to sleepless nights." Mary breathed as she lent on her chair, arms behind her back.

"Not so fast, there's still three more upcoming matches." Dorcas sighed heavily, as she choked down her jelly sandwich.

"Don't." Mary held out her hand, "Don't remind me."

"C'mon, I'm not _that_ bad." Alice scoffed, slamming her orange onto the table.

"Yeah, yeah you are," Dorcas admitted, resulting in Mary giggling.

"Oh, you'll thank me after we win this match." Alice rolled her eyes, jokingly.

"IF you win, Fortescue." Marlene's voice came from behind Dorcas. "I'm on the Ravenclaw team, y'know. My brother plays for the Chudley Cannons and let's just say I learnt a bit from him." 

"Well my sibling, Mage, they're quite brilliant at Quidditch, so-" Alice began.

"So you're gonna beat me? Mage Fortescue, that does ring a bell. Didn't they help people smuggle dragons in and out of England?" 

"I-Well-Uh-" Alice gulped, feeling her collar tighten.

"See you on the field, Fortescue." Marlene smiled before turning around and going back to her group of friends.

"Don't listen to her, Aly." Mary lent down, towards Alice. "She's just trying to get in your head. You'll do fine, I promise." 

"Right." Alice looked down at her plate.

*****

Flags were held up, each supporting a different house. The two houses were championing their own players, Slytherins were all supporting Ravenclaw, while Hufflepuffs were cheered on the Gryffindors. Dorcas was freezing from the cold, despite having mittens, a woollen hat, and two coats stacked on one another, with a pullover underneath it all. Mary was a tad underdressed but didn't feel cold in the slightest. They were sitting on the second row, having the only spare seat next to Dorcas, quite close to the field.

"Can I sit here?" Dorcas looked up to see Lily, fiddling with her fingers.

"Will Snivellous be coming?" Dorcas eyed her, still rather sour from last year. She had tried to avoid her as much as possible in the first few months of school, but them talking bout this was inevitable.

"No. He's-He's with his mates." Lily's eyes were tearing up.

Dorcas remembered seeing her alone quite a few times and the only times she wasn't alone, she was with Trelawney, who wasn't much help. Snape was rarely with her, which had been dubious, but Dorcas hadn't thought much about him.

"Well then, you have to sit with yours, obviously. Y'know, to make it fair and all." Dorcas patted on the seat, making Lily smile ever so slightly, as she took her seat. 

"Thank you." Lily grinned.

"Don't worry about it." Dorcas shrugged, as the teams began entering the field.

Leila was leading her team, astounding Dorcas. They looked fancy and the tattered uniforms had been swapped for much more exquisite clothes. Alice was looking brilliant, her hair tied up in a pair of dutch braids, tied off with yellow and red ribbons. The rest of the players looked just as good, giving an air of superiority, which the Gryffindors always had deep down. The Ravenclaw team, on the other hand, was wearing more elegant clothing. Their deep blue uniforms, with a golden outline and eagle crest game of that upper-class sense. Dorcas was most taken aback by Marlene's outfit. She looked beautiful, with her hair let loose and her shimmering icy blue eyes glittering. Her smile was confident, showing off her pearly white teeth. Dorcas blinked a few times to see if she was dreaming or not. She shook her head, focusing on the fact that she had been mean to Alice this morning, so it was no time for compliments.

"Morthe, Welsch" Sir Keitch nodded to both of them, "Shake hands."

"Pleasure." The Ravenclaw girl held out her hand.

"Good luck." Leila smiled, hopefully.

"I wouldn't need it, Morthe." She eyed her, gritting her teeth.

"Alright, alright, just get into position." Sir Keitch, wisely, split the two up.

"So, we're off to a heavy start, everyone." Frank's long-awaited voice echoed through the stands, "Will Morthe and Welsch kill each other before the match ends? Wait and find out. As they're getting prepared, let's talk about that new broom, Cleensweep Six, brand new and quite brilliant." 

"Longbottom, are you running an advertisement?" McGonagall's voice came through, making Dorcas chuckle slightly.

"On three, you rise." Sir Keitch commanded. "Three...Two...One, GO!" The players rose into the sky, along with the balls.

"Here they go." Mary gulped.

Marlene began fighting off brilliantly the Bludgers and sending them at James, hurriedly. He dodged them rapidly, making wheels over five times. 

"Ooh, Potter's got some skill, we have to give him that. Both him and McKinnon have a legacy to keep. Although, newbies are always welcome. Look at Fortescue go!" He shouted as Alice began launching the Bludgers into Marlene, almost knocking her off the broom.

"That girl's got some skill," Frank muttered, making whispers travel around the stands.

Alice hit over two Ravenclaw Chasers and the Seeker, making them topple into one another. James was getting at the Quaffles, throwing them into every hoop possible, and dodging the bloody Bludgers, which Marlene was sending just as well. The Ravenclaws weren't doing to bad though, getting almost 40 points in the first few minutes. Although, the Gryffindors were already at 80.

"The new players are awe-inspiring, and sticking by the rules. Are the Slytherin team watching? Oh yea, Laughalot and Vaughin, do pay close attention for you could use some tips."

"LONGBOTTOM," McGonagall warned.

"Right, right. Either way, it looks like a tight match, folks. We have two rivalries on the pitch currently, as you can probably tell: Morthe and Welsch, who haven't killed each other yet, impressive. Need I remind you, Welsch ended up with Madam Pomfrey within five seconds of the match. Yikes. And our second rivalry, between McKinnon and Fortescue. I know whose side I'm on, on that one." Frank glossed over, making Dorcas gasp and Mary giggle. Even Alice looked like she was blushing slightly, or perhaps it was the cold.

Leila was following the Quaffles, until Morthe and Quirrell, both Ravenclaw Chasers, got on either of her sides. pushing into her, for her to let go of the Quaffle, but she was gripping onto it as her life depended on it. Livi was guarding the posts, quite well, except for a few minor mistakes, where the Quaffle barely got past her. Blake had begun being the centre of Marlene's furious attacks, which were rather impressive. She threw the Bludger relentlessly, making sure to hit just in the right spots, to make him be unbalanced.

"Bloody hell, folks. This is finally getting interesting, it seems the Seekers have seen the Snitch. Shacklebolt and Hunter are going head-on. It looks way too close, but it seems as if Hunter has pushed Donna, I mean Shacklebolt out of the way. She's reaching, oh gods, wait, the Bludger! Bloody hell, Fortescue just threw Hunter off of his broom! Perfect timing at that. Now, this should be easy-peasy for Shacklebolt, and yep, we won! I mean GRYFFINDOR WINS!" Frank drops the microphone, the cheers of the Gryffindors echoing through the stands. 

The players got down, Donna still holding the Snitch up high and Alice with a huge grin over her face.

"She did it. She bloody did it." Lily whispered as both Dorcas and Mary cheered.

"Of course she did, she's a Fortescue." Mary gleamed.

******

As the Gryffindor girls awaited for Alice to get out of the changing room, Marlene and Emmeline passed by them.

"How does it feel to lose, McKinnon?" Dorcas teased.

"Wonderful, Meadowes." Marlene rolled her eyes.

"Don't be too sour," Alice smirked as she got out from the room. "Guess my sibling really is better than yours."

"Whatever." Marlene scoffed, walking past them.

"Oh, and McKinnon?" Alice called, making the girl turn around.

"Yes?"

"Don't ever insult my sibling again." Alice looked at her. "Got it?"

"Alright then." Marlene held up her hands in defence, before turning around, walking off.

"Merlin, Alice. Didn't know you had it in you." Mary pushed her jokingly.

"You don't know everything about me." Alice smiled. "Still got a few tricks up my sleeve."


	25. Second Year: Slimy Selwyn

Doras sat up, reading in the library, finally having made amends with Madam Pince. She had helped the old librarian set up a number of rules, which obviously included no eating and no drinking. Mary was personally fed up with hem, having broken them at least once, though had managed to keep herself out of detention. Alice hadn't been as lucky, with Leila continuously pushing her, had made their nights even more restless, so much so that Alice fell asleep in Professor Binns' class. Needless to say, he hadn't taken kindly to such behaviour, giving her detention for two whole weeks. 

"Have you done Professor Sinistra's work? About the whole Houses and what they are?" Lily looked up from her book.

"Nope." Mary shook her head, as she was scribbling down the last of the Potions' homework. "I'm currently busy trying to figure out how the stupid Girding Potion works. What even is it supposed to do, except make whoever is smelling it nauseous?"

Lily chuckled slightly, "It's supposed to make someone endure something longer. I learnt that at the Slug Club meeting last year. Make sure to note down that the maximum dosage per day is two vials. If you take more than that, the effect reverse. For example, Barty Crouch Jr., a Fifth-Year Slytherin accidentally took more than that and passed out for two weeks." She warned.

"Bloody hell," Dorcas exclaimed. "I mean it is useful, to know."

"Why?" Lily eyed her.

"No reason." Dorcas shrugged, "But if Rosier opens up his mouth one more time, I might try it."

"If you do, count me in." Lily rolled her eyes, giggling.

"Really? I'd think you'd be the teacher's pet. Lily _Couldn't Do No Wrong_ Evans." Mary raised her eyebrows at the ginger girl.

"You barely know me, Mary. Stick around longer, and you'll see." Lily muttered.

"Alright, alright. But I'm out as soon as Severus magically appears. Last year, I learnt that. He's too much. Too...full of himself." 

"I get what you mean." Lily nodded, getting back to her notes. "What I don't get, is Astrology. It's USELESS. Why would I need to know about Houses?" 

"To, and I quote:" Dorcas lifted up her Astronomy book, "Know where the energies from your planets and zodiacs manifest." Dorcas looked back up at the two girls, staring blankly at her. "What? You're just jealous that I get it, and you don't."

"Oh sorry, is the I-fell-asleep-in-class-over-six-times girl talking?" Mary put her hand behind her ear, making Lily snort.

"Stop bringing that up!" Dorcas hit her with the book, right over the head."

"Alright, alright. Do you two always fight?" Lily chuckled.

Mary and Dorcas looked at each other for a moment: "Yes."

*****

The four girls were waiting inside the astronomy tower, for Professor Sinistra. James and Sirius were jokingly pushing each other off of the bridge, with Peter looking actually terrified. Remus was slightly egging them on, as well as just copying down the homework really quickly. They were all seating on the floor, trying to not get squished by the huge telescopes. Suddenly, two boys came inside the room: Warner and Regulus.

"What d'you want?" Sirius glanced at his smaller brother.

"I'm looking for Professor Sinistra. Anything other than that isn't any of your business." Regulus spat.

"Alright, alright, sheesh." Sirius scoffed, leaning back on the rail.

"Your brother looks pathetic." Warner made the observation, making all the Gryffindors gasp slightly, though the boy didn't seem hesitant at all.

"What did you say about me?" Sirius got up.

"I SAID: You look pathetic." Warner eyed him up and down, clearly unimpressed. 

"You slimy git." Sirius spat, as Remus now got up.

"What you gonna do? Attack me? Release your friend at me?" Warner dared. "My family's name is renown through all of the United Kingdom. I would say the same about yours, except you brought them to shame. Mine is still thriving." 

"You son-of-a-" Sirius stepped up, threateningly.

"Warner, stop." Regulus held him back slightly. 

"Let go of me." Warner pulled away, abruptly.

"WARNER, JUST BACK OFF!" Alice shouted across the room, towards her cousin.

"You think you can tell me what to do? You're just as much of a blood traitor as they are. So's your filthy brother." Warner eyed her.

"Sirius, if you're not going to punch him, I certainly will." Alice echoed.

Warner wasn't as scrawny looking as Regulus. He looked taller than Sirius, even if it was only by very little. Dorcas wasn't sure who would win, but she didn't want to find out either way.

"Let's be calm." Lily gulped.

"Too late, Evans." Sirius punched Warner right in the face, breaking his nose almost immediately. Warner fell backwards, his head hitting the floor abruptly.

A few seconds later, Professor Sinistra stepped in the room, gasping at the sight of bloody Warner.

"What is going on here?"

"Warner provoked him, Miss," Benjy exclaimed.

"That's not exactly what I'd expect from you, Mr Black." Sinistra eyed the boy, as she helped up Warner. "Regulus, be a dear and take Warner to the hospital ward. Mr Black, I'm taking you myself to McGonagall's office." Sinistra tutted, before grabbing Sirius by the arm and dragging him out of the room, not listening to any complaints.

"Why would he do that?" Benjy looked over to Remus.

"Who? Sirius?" Remus answered promptly.

"No, Warner. He seemed alright when I met him in the library last week." Benjy shrugged.

"Oh, my cousin did this on purpose. That, I'm sure of." Alice nodded, "He doesn't just do things spontaneously. He plans it all out and then does it."

"Your brother is eleven, not an evil mastermind." Peter pointed out.

"Same thing in his eyes." Alice shrugged, before sitting back down.

"This means revenge." James looked at both Remus and Peter, who nodded along.

"Revenge?" Dorcas asked suspiciously.

"Just you wait. It'll be truly brilliant, right mates?" 

"It'll be batty brilliant." Peter chuckled at his bad pun, though this only left Dorcas with more questions than ever before.


	26. Second Year: The Bat-Bogey Hex

Dorcas, Mary, Lily and Alice were all sitting in Potions, rereading over their ingredients. They had to have a Pop Test the next day, so Slughorn had allowed them for one lesson to study everything, and be able to ask him any questions they still had. However, the professor had soon been called into Dumbledore's office, and everyone was on the edge of their seat to know what was going on. 

"Did you actually do something?" Benjy whispered towards Remus, Sirius, James and Peter.

"Us? Of course not, we're angels." Sirius said sarcastically.

"Oh god." Dorcas shook her head.

"What did you four do?" Rosier looked at Remus specifically.

"Nothing. Yet." Remus smirked, making Mary chuckle slightly.

Suddenly, Dorcas noticed two figures enter the classroom: McGonagall and Slughorn.

"Settle down, pupils." McGonagall's harsh voice echoed throughout the room, as everyone was fidgeting.

"What happened?" "Did someone die?" Murmuring and whispers were travelling the classroom at the speed of light, despite McGonagall's orders.

"PUPILS! Settle down." McGonagall slammed her hand on the table, making everyone jump. "You may be wondering what is going on. Well, last night a whole Astronomy class, full of Slytherin first-years had begun to show symptoms of the Bat-Bogey Curse. This meant, that all fifteen of the students were rushed to Madam Pomfrey's office and thankfully she had managed to solve it all. Most of them are all right, though it is a fatal spell. Luckily, the fatality of this curse only applies to non-humans. For the first-years, it was merely them getting severely hurt by it. The reason this is a huge deal is that we have yet to find the marauders which have caused this. I say, marauders, considering they culprits wrote _Marauders_ in big bold letters around the Slytherin common room."

"It was Lupin! And Black, Potter and Pettigrew." Rosier spoke up.

"You proof, Mr Rosier?" McGonagall eyed the boy.

"I-I-" Rosier stuttered.

"We don't put blame without having actual proof, I hope you do know that. The punishment will be huge for this sort of hex. So, you have been warned. If we find out who the culprit is, and they don't come out until then, then the punishment indeed would be terrible. So, if you are the culprit or know who did it, do tell your Head of House immediately." McGonagall nodded towards Slughorn. "You may resume your lesson." She turned around, sweeping out of the room.

"Alrighty then. Who can tell me what Flobberworm Mucus is used for?" Slughorn looked around the class. "Anyone except Miss Evans?"

*****

"Remus!" Dorcas caught up with the boy in the library.

"What is it, _Dorcy_?" He looked up.

"It's- nevermind. Did you do it?" Dorcas asked.

"Did I do what? You have to be a tad bit more specific." Remus shrugged.

"Did you put the Bat-Bogey Hex on the first-year Slytherins?"

"Well, I, didn't do anything. It was the Marauders, as McGonagall said." Remus shrugged.

"I know it was you." Dorcas cut in.

"Then why'd you ask?" Remus rolled his eyes. "And how would you know?"

"Last year, I went in your dorm-" Dorcas began.

"Whoah, stalker much?" Remus raised his eyebrows, making Dorcas grab the nearest book and whack him on the head with it. "Alright, sorry."

"As I was saying, I went into your dorm and I saw a piece of parchment with blotted red lines which said: _The Marauder's Map_." 

"You know about that?" Remus gulped. "Alright, maybe we did it. I'm guessing you already know who I'm referring to. You won't tell will you?"

"Obviously not." Dorcas rolled her eyes. "I'm not a snitch, though make sure Snivellous doesn't overhear you talk about it. Something tells me, he'll tell on you, like the rat he is."

"Meadowes, sticking up, for me? That's a new one." Remus chuckled.

"Shove off." Dorcas pushed him slightly as she tried to reach a book on the top shelf. She hadn't come into the library for no reason, after all.

"Need some help?" Remus offered.

"Please do." Dorcas stepped out of the way, as Remus reached on his tippy-toes to grab the book on the top shelf of the _Muggle_ section, to analyze it: " _Death On the Nile, by Agatha Christie_. A murder mystery, really?"

"Like you have any better taste." Dorcas snapped the book out of his hand, looking over his shoulder at the book he was holding, "Mark Twain? Really?"

"Now it's your turn to shove off. Let me read about a normal boy having a normal life. Merlin, I wish I was like Tom Sawyer." Remus sighed.

"You are a normal boy, you just have a bit of magic. Which makes it ten times cooler." Dorcas added. Remus looked like he was holding something back, but Dorcas didn't dare press him on.

*****

The breakfast table was full of chattering and rumours being passed around the table like food scraps. Dorcas was eating with the rest of the girls who were rather quiet this morning, even Alice, who had just started to talk slightly more. Mary was mostly explaining the homework for Defence Against the Dark Arts, while Lily was noting it down rapidly.

"So, whose house are we going to for Christmas?" Mary spoke up. "Cause I, for one, am not willing to spend my Christmas alone again."

"I'll do the honours." Dorcas looked at her friends. "The town is now safe. Although, I do have an older, much more prickier brother, though. So watch out for him. There's also Amos and Willow, but they're alright, and they live down the road.

"Alright." Mary nodded.

"I don't know if I can come." Alice piped up.

"Nope, you're coming. I won't take a no for an answer." Dorcas shook her head. "Lily, you're invited as well, of course."

"Really? Brilliant." Lily smiled.

Suddenly, Snape, Riser, Mulciber and Goyle all approached the table, a bit farther away from the girls, more specifically where Remus and the other boys were eating their toast.

"We have proof that you guys made the prank." Snape crossed his arms.

"Oh bugger off, Snivellous, no one cares about your stupid superstitions." Remus rolled his eyes.

"What'cha gonna do about it, Lupin? Call your girlfriend on it? Where is she anyway?" Snape eyed the whole table before landing on Dorcas. "Oh, there's Meadowes."

"Leave her out of this." Remus huffed, "And she's not my girlfriend."

"What's her input on this?" Rosier smirked.

"My input, Rosier, is that you should just shut up before you regret it." Dorcas stood up.

"What'cha gonna do? Flipendo me again? Pathetic." 

"Oh, that was last year. I can do so much better than that." Dorcas gripped her wand. "Dare me to try?"

"You got a big mouth for a half-blood."

"And you got an even bigger head." Dorcas scoffed, taking out her wand. Rosier quickly followed, but Dorcas was quicker and immediately said: " _Expelliarmus_." His wand came flying back into her arm, leaving him defenceless.

" _Tarantallegra._ " Dorcas calmly exclaimed one last time, waving her wand in the boy's direction, making his feet swivel uncontrollably.

"Stop this immediately." McGonagall's voice rushed into the hall, making Dorcas immediately release him. "Miss Meadowes, Mr Rosier, my office, now!" She walked away firmly, Dorcas and Rosier following right behind her.

*****

"Miss Meadowes, I must admire you for managing to go quite some time without detention." McGonagall said sarcastically, as both Dorcas and Rosier sat down on the red, puffy chairs. "Now, why is it, that when it comes to fights, you two are always involved?"

"It's her fault, Miss." Rosier piped up.

"You little rat. He's the one that threatened me. Calling me names." Dorcas fought back.

"Miss Meadowes, what was the lesson-" McGonagall began.

"Two wrongs don't make a right, yeah, yeah, I got it." Dorcas huffed.

"Less of the attitude," McGonagall warned. "Although, Mr Rosier, you aren't half as innocent. I am starting to feel as if you two can't be in a room together without exploding something or each other. For this particular reason, you will have detention up until the holidays, by yourselves. I'm not willing to risk having someone killed because they got in your way." McGonagall added. "Now, Mr Rosier, you may go. Miss Meadowes, stay."

Rosier got up quickly, rushing for the door, and left without looking back, clearly not wanting to take any chanced.

"It's not my-" Dorcas tried to explain, but McGonagall cut her off.

"I don't need excuses, Miss Meadowes. Just a word of advice, don't stoop down to their level. I know that you're much better than a teaser. From Potter or Black or even Lupin I could expect it, but from you, no." McGonagall said, clearly disappointed.

"I'll-I'll try." Dorcas got up to leave, but McGonagall piped up one last time:

"Oh, and the list for the holidays is right outside the door. You can add your friends to go to your house, right before." 

"Thanks, Professor." Dorcas smiled, as she finally left.


	27. Second Year: Christmas 1972

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Song at the beginning: All by Myself-by Eric Carmen)

_Livin’ alone_

_I think of all the friends I’ve known_

_But when I dial the telephone_

_Nobody’s home_

The song played through Dorcas' ears, as the alarm clock rang furiously. It was December 25th, Christmas Day and yet, Dorcas didn't want to get up. Mary clearly didn't either. She was yawning terribly, while Alice jumped up and down on Darryl's bed. The boy had argued a lot against the girls sleeping on his bed, but Dorcas' mom had insisted. Lily was already up, probably for about two hours, and was jotting down a few words for her family, as she had repeatedly told Dorcas she must.

"Aly, go disturb Lily, I'm too tired for this." Mary pushed the girl off of the bed.

"It's Christmas. You need to get up!" Alice shoved the pillow onto Mary's face.

"Alright just let me get up before I smack you all the way back to your aunt's house." Mary threatened as she got out of bed.

"Guess it's my queue to wake up as well, then." Dorcas stretched as she got up from her bed, taking off her bonnet and combing her hair slightly. "Since when have you been up, Lily?"

"Five o'clock. Couldn't sleep." Lily explained shortly, as she continued writing.

"Why are you so worried about your sister?" Alice asked bluntly.

"She's-well-she wanted me to spend the holidays with her and well I'm here. She's probably mad at me for it." 

"So what if she is? It's her problem, not yours. It's Christmas, c'mon. My mom probably made Lemon Meringue Pie, the absolute best dessert ever. And we get to eat it for breakfast. Cheer up, let's go!" Dorcas encouraged her.

"I can't-" Lily gulped, but Dorcas had already grabbed her by the arm and dragged her out of her chair and out of the room, Alice following right behind.

They stumbled down the stairs, making a rather huge racket. Mary was already downstairs, having taken a seat at the table. Fruits were poured into a wooden basket, with neatly placed, porcelain dishes on the table. White cloth, the special kind, covered the table. It was clear it was Christmas just by the sight of it. The Christmas tree was standing tall in the corner of the room, with an abundance of presents underneath it. Dorcas wasn't really religious but loved Christmas either way.

"Eat up, you three." Pamela nodded at the three girls, who weren't already sat.

"Thank you, Mrs Meadowes!" Alice munched on the food.

"Don't worry about it, dear." Pamela smiled reassuringly, "Oh, girls, we'll be going to the Edevane's house in a few minutes, so make sure to dress comfortingly. Dorcas, you might want to take the sleighs from the outside, seeing as there's plenty of snow outside. I'll catch up with you girls later, as I need to wait for your father."

"Where's Darryl?" Dorcas asked as she drank a bit of her tea.

"He's with Amos. They'll be coming back to the house and we'll all go to the Edevane's later." Pamela took Mary and Dorcas' empty dishes off the table and put them in the sink, getting ready to wash them.

"I'm finished." Alice lent back on the chair, patting her stomach, clearly full.

"Same here." Lily nodded, her plate almost empty, except for the few crumbs.

The girls all rushed upstairs to get dressed. Lily was wearing her bright red dress, with a green collar and puffed sleeves. Mary wore her checkers trousers, along with a buttoned-up flannel. Alice grabbed her own festive, golden skirt paired with a purple jumper. Dorcas struggled to find something to wear but settled with a bright red dress. she put on a green hat with little reindeer on it. 

"Do we need mittens?" Mary looked up at the rest of them, as she rummaged through her luggage.

"I suppose if we're going in the snow." Dorcas shrugged, grabbing hers off of the top shelf.

"By the way, are you and Amos friends? I mean you live close to each other, but you never really talked in school..." Alice asked.

"I mean, yeah. He's in Hufflepuff and we barely have any lessons with them, except Herbology, so whatever do you want me to about it?" 

"Yeah, you're right, I guess." Alice nodded as the girls all followed Dorcas out of the room, and downstairs.

The girls quickly grabbed their coats and headed right outside. On their way down the snow-covered cobblestone, Dorcas grabbed the two wooden sleighs, both by the rains, and began dragging them behind her as the girls made their way through town. Lights were held across the border of the rooftops. Red tiles were covered in glittering ice, looking like mirrors dangling. Alice was skipping ahead, gripping onto Lily's hand. Mary walked beside Dorcas; everyone was in complete silence.

Willow's house wasn't much, looking just like Dorcas, except for its huge garden. The girl was sitting on the hilltop, along with Amos and Darryl, just joking around. Two sleighs were already over there, clearly waiting for the rest of the girls to arrive. Dorcas had no bloody idea why an only child like Willow would need TWO sleighs, but all the better for the rest of them. Darryl suddenly spotted the girls, waving them over towards them.

"Oy, Dorcy! Over 'ere, c'mon faster, I want to slide down." He shouted. He was wearing their father's old coat, clearly too big enough for him. Darryl was also wearing huge, grey trousers, with over two thousand pockets. 

"I would be coming faster, if you'd just help me, no?" Dorcas rolled her eyes, as she pulled herself up the hill.

"Sorry." Darryl shrugged, rushing along with Willow and Amos towards her, ready to help her, but she had already managed, fortunately.

"Who are they?" Willow smiled, eyeing the rest of the girls, standing there, in her 

"Oh right, Willow," Dorcas remembered. "This is Mary, Alice and Lily. They go with me to Hogwarts. We share a dorm." Dorcas pointed at each one of the girls.

"Nice to meet you." Mary nodded.

"Pleasure." Willow sighed, still smiling.

"Darry, Amos, I think you already know them." Dorcas looked at the boys.

"Unfortunately." Darryl scoffed. "Keeping me up all night with your songs has given me a headache."

"Sorry about that." Mary apologized.

"No, don't worry about it too much. It's too quiet sometimes." Darryl shook his head.

"Well, if we're done with these introductions, let's get sleighing?" Amos suggested, "Then, teams. Dorcy, you up to it?"

"Sure." Dorcas shrugged.

"I'll take Mary." Darryl shrugged. "Y'know, just cause she might not know..."

"I'll be with Lily." Alice stepped up immediately, as she linked arms with Lily.

"And I'll just chill by myself." Willow gulped. "I'll beat you all."

"Alright then, players, grab your sleighs and get in position." Amos grabbed one of the sleighs, along with Dorcas, as they reached the edge of the hill, placing it on the ground, with a loud thud.

"I'll go first, you can't control the sleigh in the slightest, and I'm not about to drive into the forest." Dorcas sat down immediately, grabbing hold of the reins, Amos following her, grumbling about it. He grabbed hold of the back, wooden legs. The three teams, plus Willow, all pushed themselves downhill. By the end of it, it had turned into quite the disaster, with Alice being on the ground, snow all over her face. Mary was also kind of hurt, her having a rather bruised knee, but all in all, it was alright.

"We win." Amos high-fived Dorcas, as they lifted the sleigh.

"Not so fast, I'm not hurt either." Willow rolled her eyes.

"But you were also dead last," Dorcas added, making Amos snort slightly.

"Alright, alright, you guys win." Willow put her hands up, admitting defeat.

*****

As depressing as the Edevane's house was, it looked cosy on the inside. A warm fireplace was burning in the corner of the room, some ashes escaping the grate. The bright orange carpet was sprawled across the wooden floorboards, with images of magical beasts and how people managed to conquer them. Soon enough, Dorcas had learnt that Hugh Edevane, Willow's father, was a dragon trainer, coming right back from Ukraine, having worked in Easter Europe for almost a decade. Lisa Edevane, Willow's mother, on the other hand, worked as a librarian, in the local bookshop.

"And, Dorcas, how is Hogwarts?" Mrs Edevane asked curiously.

"It's quite nice, actually." Dorcas nodded, looking at the clock. It was nine o'clock and her parents were nowhere to be seen.

"Where are our parents again?" Darryl questioned, eyeing Willow's mom.

"Oh, dear, your father's probably busy with Auror business. Nothing to worry about." Mrs Edevane lied right through her teeth.

"This is the most depressing Christmas ever." Darryl rolled his eyes, as he pushed the still-full plate out of his way. "I need the bathroom." He stood up, pushing the chair behind him as he rushed upstairs.

"I'll be right back." Dorcas nodded following Darryl out of the room and up the stairs.

He was sitting on the corner of the railing, looking down, his feet dangling, from the floor. He looked rather upset, with his eyes reddening.

"Darryl? What's wrong?" Dorcas sat beside him.

"We never have Christmas like we used to. Even last year, you weren't around, dad was on a trip with the Aurors. Mum and I were stuck at home just praying he was alright. And now they're not even here. It's pathetic." Darryl sniffed.

"Darryl, c'mon you know that's not fair. Dad's fighting for good. He's one of the good guys." Dorcas patted him.

"I just want him to be here. Everything is all fun and fine with the rest of the people, but I want mom and dad." Darryl sighed.

"Darryl, I feel the same. I hated getting that stupid letter last year saying I couldn't even come, but things are getting better. Look, I'm here, aren't I? Voldemort will be defeated within two years maximum, but until then, we just gotta be supportive of mum and dad, and everything will be alright. I promise." Dorcas sighed, hugging him.

"You really promise?" 

"100 per cent." Dorcas sighed, feeling another tear trickle down her eye.


	28. Second Year: Deeper Scars

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Song mentioned: Keep Yourself Alive-by Queen)

_All you people keep yourself alive_

_Take you all your time and money honey_

_You will survive_

_Keep you satisfied_

The nightmares had been getting worse. The beady eyes following Dorcas in every single dream. Darryl was always there, just as well, being chased relentlessly. All Dorcas could do was scream until she finally woke up. She just wanted to get rid of the bad dreams, get rid of everything and just live normally. Her dread for going to sleep was growing night by night, and she had begun to even fall asleep in class.

"Miss Meadowes!" McGonagall echoed through the room, waking Dorcas up immediately. "Can you tell us anything about the Vera Verto spell?"

"No, sorry, Ms." Dorcas gulped, as the eyes all around her followed her like cameras.

"Third time this week, it's completely unacceptable. 10 points from Gryffindor." McGonagall shook her head, turning back to the board, as Dorcas hit her head on the table.

"That was an easy question. How come you didn't get it?" Mary looked at her friend, clearly worried.

"I-I was just distracted." Dorcas lied right through her teeth.

She didn't want to worry Mary too much. Sure, friends tell each other everything, but friends don't purposefully worry one another. Plus, having nightmares was obviously totally normal, they were just a bit more extreme this time around. Probably because of Christmas, but they were sure to disperse soon enough, as they always did. They were _just_ nightmares after all, no? The bell rang Dorcas back into reality, once more. Daydreaming really wasn't doing her any good. 

"Miss Meadowes, Mr Black, stay." McGonagall's voice called for both of the Gryffindors. Mary patted Dorcas reassuringly, as her, Lily and Alice all left the classroom, in a rush to get to lunch.

"Yes, professor?" Sirius stayed behind, clearly desperate to go to his friends. 

"Miss Meadowes, you are slightly falling behind, and we wouldn't want that to happen, not after all the progress you've made. Mr Black, if you please, could you catch up Dorcas and tutor her for a while at least, until her grades get back up, of course, seeing as you're doing splendidly in Transfigurations?" McGonagall crossed her arms as she spoke. "And of course, she could help you in Charms, as that's the ONE class she's decided not to fall asleep in."

"What? Why me?" Sirius grumbled.

"Because Mr Black, that's what housemates do and as housemates, you need to look out for one another. This is a high responsibility, which I entrust both of you to keep." McGonagall explained.

"Fine, I guess." Sirius sighed.

"Sure, why not?" Dorcas shrugged, knowing that she was probably going to regret it deeply.

"Brilliant. Seeing as none of you has extracurriculars, I'd expect you two to do it at least in the weekend." McGonagall nodded, before quickly dismissing. "Now, go, you wouldn't want to be late for lunch."

Sirius and Dorcas brushed past the tables, quickly exiting the classroom.

"Just so you know, I'm not going to like it, Meadowes," Sirius muttered, as he tried to fasten his pace.

"The feeling is mutual, Black." Dorcas rolled her eyes, as she raced past him, eager to talk freely with Mary.

*****

"What did McGonagall say?" Mary quickly jumped to the discussion as Dorcas sat down. Alice was just as well, eager to listen. Lily, on the other hand, was sitting at the Ravenclaw table, surprisingly.

"I have to tutor Sirius, and he has to tutor me. It's pathetic, don't worry about it." Dorcas quickly spoke. "Why is Lily at the Ravenclaw table?"

"Oh, that's McKinnon's fault," Alice explained. "She just came over here, along with Vance and basically begged for Lily to sit with them. She agreed, leaving us in the dust."

"Oh, you're exaggerating, Aly. She just wants new friends, don't make more of it than it is. Plus, they seem like they just want to know her, not a big deal." Mary shrugged, as the three girls looked over at the Ravenclaw table, where Lily, Marlene and Emmeline were laughing like mad.

"It's still a bit peculiar," Dorcas added.

"This is Lily Evans, we're talking about. The same girl who was buddy-buddy with Snape. As she said, we don't know that much about her." Mary explained.

"I suppose." 

*****

Dorcas entered the library, during study hours, as Sirius had promised to meet her there, even if it had been more of a threat than a promise. The sooner Dorcas got her grades back up, the better. Sirius was seating on a chair, reading through the book of his. He was clearly in a very bad mood, and Dorcas contemplated just turning around and leaving him be. Then, maybe she could manage to get caught up by herself after all Mary was pretty good at Transfigurations.

"You sitting down, or do I need to pull out the chair for you?" Sirius eyed her.

"Nope, I'm coming. So, Transfigurations." Dorcas nodded.

"D'you at least know what the Vera Verto does?" 

"Kinda. Well, nope." Dorcas admitted.

"Oh boy, alright, it basically changes the object into an animal. In the mouse, which I'm pretty sure you saw just as well, it changed into a goblet." Sirius explained, "Ok, you got it, just memorize this and that you have to tap it thrice. This spell mainly works for small animals, but I guess it works either way."

"That's it?" 

"I wish. The Reparifarge spell, go." Sirius leaned back, clearly awaiting an answer.

"It was, uh, the reverse of a transfiguration spell?" Dorcas guessed.

"Ding, ding, ding. Alright, you got that. Just add that it has to be an INCOMPLETE transformation." 

"So like when Benjy tried to turn his mouse into a goblet and accidentally left the head?" 

"Yeah." Sirius chuckled slightly. "I felt bad for that mouse."

"Same." Dorcas nodded.

"You know most of this. This is what we've basically been doing, why didn't you get it before?" Sirius questioned.

"I-I was tired I guess. It was morning, in my defence." Dorcas held her hands up in defence.

"Fair enough, but three times? What's keeping you up at night?" Sirius looked suspicious.

"I-I don't-"

"You dragged me into this, so you better not lie." Sirius threatened.

"Nightmares, I guess. It's stupid, don't worry about it." Dorcas shrugged.

"Nightmares? I actually know a bit about those as well." 

"How come?"

"Well-"

"Oh you're telling me, I told you," Dorcas added.

"It's more than some silly nightmare that you have, it's different." Sirius began getting defensive.

"Please, and how do you know how mine are? Would you like to see beady eyes all over the place, hunting down your younger brother, and then you screaming not being able to do anything?" Dorcas ranted.

"Wait, what? Beady eyes?" Sirius eyed her.

"Last Summer, me and my brother along with some friends went into the woods and then boom, beady eyes appeared and it was chasing us. We got away. I've had a few nightmares about it, but nothing much. They just got worse after Christmas." Dorcas sighed but noticed Sirius looking rather nervous. "What are your nightmares about?"

"I'm not telling a-" He began, but she cut him off.

"Who am I gonna tell? I swear I won't tell anyone. Does it have to do with your scars?" Dorcas asked.

"What? Oh, yeah. My mother-never mind." Sirius held back.

"Your mother?" Dorcas eyed him.

"She's mad I'm hanging out with James, Remus and Peter. It's a pureblood thing, you wouldn't understand." He shrugged.

"If you explain, I might." 

"She's mad for no reason. She praises Regulus every day, and I'm stuck there getting cursed." 

"That's dreadful," Dorcas admitted.

"No need to tell me about it. There are deeper scars than the ones on my arms, they're right up here." He motioned towards his head, "The words follow me everywhere as the beady eyes do for you."

"We both have deep scars then." Dorcas nodded. "I won't tell anyone, I promise." 

"Meadowes, I'm probably gonna regret this, but I believe you. James and Remus trust you for some reason, I don't see why I shouldn't." Sirius shrugged, looking at his scarred hand.

"Maybe cause I'm trustworthy. I don't believe you know that term, it means-" Sirius slapped her with a bike as she spoke, making them both chuckle.

"Quiet in the library!" Madam Pince shouted, making the two students laugh even harder.


	29. Second Year: Fashionably Late to Charms

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW: Homophobic slur mentioned

Dorcas knew her way around the school by now. She knew the hierarchy and who to never cross. Most of them were Slytherins, plus a few rather older Ravenclaws. Andromeda Black fell somewhere around there. She was scary, seemingly descended from royalty, but seemed just slightly different. Her fashion especially. Dorcas had begun to dig deeper into pureblood fashion, and it was something else. Ever since the 1700s, seemingly, they always made sure to look their best, especially the Noble House of Black and the Rowles, wearing the fines pieces of fabric, the widening silhouette of everybody, which Dorcas favoured compared to the slim ones in the 1680s and such. The colours of the Noble Black family were also seemingly the same, just as now, with dark colours, like black, grey and maroon. The corsets, though, were by far the most exquisite part of it, is highly decorated with the ancient Black crest and drawings. golden trims were on the broads, which pulled back the shoulders. 

The portraits were just as impressive. Dorcas enjoyed reading, specifically about Midra Florence Black, perhaps because Dorcas had the same middle name, but just as well, because she was rebellious. From what Dorcas saw, she had grown up ruffly, around muggle-borns and therefore began to rebel against her pureblood family. This could be seen through her fashion, with slightly brighter, pastel colours. She stood out immensely in the family portraits, with her corset even tighter, showing more skin, than "accepted" at the time. Dorcas was rather interested in her walking with a matching stick, always the same colour as her outfit. Apparently, she had also designed multiple outfits, all of them incorporating the floral pattern with the corsets.

"Bit obsessed with my family, are ya?" Sirius bent over Dorcas' book, reading slightly. "Why obsess over dead ones, when the living is right here?"

"Shove off, Black." Dorcas pushed him slightly, as he sat down opposite her. "She was a _rebel_ , you know. Her name was Midra."

"Oh, I heard about her. First-person to ever disagree with the family beliefs. She was disabled. Mother always outlined that, except she called her something else... Always said that she was lucky the family wanted to keep her and didn't abandon her. Then also mentioned how she betrayed them." Sirius sighed, looking over the book. "She was blasted off of the tapestry when she ran away. Haven't heard from her since then and I had no idea the school kept track of such things."

"I found it in the fashion section, but that's simply awful. I suppose you'd be glad to know she ran away with a muggle girl and stayed in a lighthouse. They lived there until their death, always looking fashionable when leaving." Dorcas pointed at a painted picture of them in the book. The lighthouse was right behind them, signalling for the boats.

"Guess I have to agree with you on this one, she does sound pretty awesome. For running away and all that." Sirius shrugged.

"Super-duper awesome. Y'know what you said kinda stuck with me. See, there are good people in your family. There always will be." 

"Yeah, but they won't help me, will they? She's dead and so is everyone else that died. Uncle Alphard could protect me, but he's just travelling in Europe. She thinks he's a bit queer. She always calls him like that." Sirius looked down, Dorcas immediately understanding who he was talking about.

"Your uncle sounds cool. Has he ever been to France, more specifically Paris? Y'know, the city of fashion?"

"I mean, I guess. Why?" Sirius eyed her.

"I wan to go there. It's got the Eiffel Tower and everything. I want to become the best fashion designer in the whole world and Paris is the way to start." Dorcas nodded.

"Could you style me, or something like that?" Sirius offered. "I'm sick of mother's clothes. Too uptight."

"I can try, but I don't have my sewing machine, darn it. Well, I'll figure something out. I'll have it to you by your next birthday, I promise." Dorcas smiled, holding out her hand.

"Bet." Sirius shook her hand. "You better not make me look like a fool."

*****

"Dorcas, we're gonna be late!" Mary shook her friend off of the chair.

"Almost done, it's Charms, he won't give me detention."

"He will give ME one, though." Mary grabbed Dorcas by the hand, basically dragging her out of the room, having both of their Charms books in her left hand.

"Alright, alright." Dorcas stood up, stumbling beside Mary.

The girls quickly rushed out of the Gryffindor common room, making down their way down the stairs. Dorcas almost fell off of the bannister of the moving chairs; clearly, the school needed some rebuilding. Hopefully, in ten years they'd finally get around to changing them. The two girls entered the classroom, luckily with Flitwick not being there yet, they sat themselves down, in front of Alice and Lily, who were talking in a rush.

"Morning, class!" Flitwick entered the room, going in front of the room.

"Morning, Professor!" The class repeated back.

"Today, we'll be learning about a very interesting spell, so be prepared. It's called the Engorgement Charm." Flitwick wrote on the board, "Now, can anyone tell me what it does?" Dorcas, Remus and Marlene's hands all went up.

"C'mon guys, someone new wants to give it a shot? It's in the bloody name." Flitwick encouraged, but no one dared raise their hand, still. "Miss McKinnon?"

"It makes the specific object larger. It can also be used as the counter-charm to Shrinking Charm, just as well. If used wrongly, it could explode, like in a fire." Marlene briefly explained.

"Brilliant." Flitwick scribbled on the board, before turning back around, and dragging out around two dozen balloons, out of a small, red cupboard, laying them in front of everyone. "Look through your books, search for the movement and enchanting, and afterwards I'd like for you to try and enlarge the balloon, without exploding it." 

As people began groaning, Dorcas took out her book, eagerly flipping through the pages, finally finding the spell. It looked slightly complicated, but all in all, it was doable. She grabbed her wand, slightly, stating: "Engorgio." The balloons, all around d the room, got slightly bigger, floating up towards the ceiling. Some tried to stop them, like Benjy who quickly fell back into his seat, his attempt being unsuccessful. A few Ravenclaw boys sniggered, Benjy's friend, Helia eyed them down, before turning around, reassuring the boy.

"Truly amazing sight, isn't it, everyone?" Flitwick walked towards the centre, looking up towards the ceiling. "Who wants to do the honours and bring them down?"

This time around, a bunch of hands went up, except for a few people.

"Mr Fenwick, you tried grabbing them down, why not actually manage this time, using magic, of course." Flitwick nodded towards the boy.

Benjy gripped his wand, before mumbling the spell towards the ceiling: "Reducio." The balloons quickly deflated, flowing back down towards everyone's desk.

"For your next task, all you need to do is read the pages on both of the Engorgement Charm and the Shrinking Charm. You may start in class, and end it as homework." 

*****

"Too much work." Mary moaned, laying on her bed.

"Don't complain, we're lucky McGonagall went easy on us." Lily shook her head, as she sat at the table, trying to make her quillwork.

"What'cha doin' Dorcas, you don't seem to be working," Alice remarked looking over at Dorcas, who was standing by the window, reading.

"Trying to find how the colour would match on Sirius. He asked me to make an accessory or something for him." Dorcas quickly explained as she sighed, "Who knew guys' clothing was this hard?"

"Sirius asked YOU for clothes? Isn't he rich?" Mary questioned.

"I suppose, but he doesn't like the clothes his mother makes and if I want to have some sort of clothing material for his next birthday, I need to find the right colour palette. He wears too much dark, but pastel doesn't quite do it either. Beige could work." Dorcas mumbled, as she bit on her pen, "Wait, what about a lime colour, faint obviously with light beige, and some light grey? That could work, of course with a bit of white."

"You're putting too much effort in it." Alice jokingly said. "He probably wasn't serious."

"Even so, I want to make something truly special for him. You know, clothing is the true shadow of a person. If I can get to reflect him through his clothes, then perhaps it could work. For the actual measurements. And my sewing machine is at home, but at least I can get an idea of what it is, and I'll dive right in, in Summer."

"As I said before," Alice stepped in, "Too much work."

"For you, maybe. For me, it's alright." Dorcas shrugged, looking up from the book.

"If you say so, Dorcy." Mary shook her head, as the rest of the girls went back to writing homework, and Dorcas continued sketching slightly the model of it.


	30. Second Year: Big Sister Advice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Song mentioned: Younger Generation Blues-by Janis Ian)

_I was sittin' on the corner, I was smokin' on the sly_

_Along came a grownup from the grownup FBI_

_Saying "This ain't Marlboro country hon_

_Where'd you cop those cigarettes?_

_You know you're too young_

"If you're an Aries, your interaction with a Capricorn might be bad." Mary scribbled on her paper as she read the astrology, "Great thing my sister's a Capricorn, don't you think, Dorcy?" Mary lifted her head, as she looked at her friend.

Dorcas wasn't listening though, she was looking over at the Ravenclaw table, where Marlene sat, laughing terribly with Lily and Emmeline. Mary rolled her eyes, before snapping her fingers, awaking Dorcasfrom her daydream.

"Huh?" Dorcas furrowed her eyebrows.

"You gonna listen to me, or should I switch faces with McKinnon?" Mary whispered rather loudly, so much so that Marlene quickly turned around, chuckling slightly. Dorcas blushed ever harder before sighing and slapping Mary on the wrist.

"Don't-"

"I'm just teasing. What's your least likeable sign?" Mary looked over the table, but Dorcas was still flustered.

"Well, I'm a Leo, so Aquarius?" Dorcas shrugged. "It's the opposite sign, so I suppose."

"Better stay away from me then, Meadowes." Marlene giggled, as her and the other two girls brushed past Dorcas. The girl blushed once more, as the group left the library, clearly in a rush.

"Bloody hell." Mary scoffed. "That girl's got an ego as if you were even talking about her. Who else is an Aquarius?" 

"Lily..." Dorcas whispered underneath her breath.

"You're really not getting along with her, so I suppose it makes some sort of sense. What's Alice's again?"

"Cancer, July 2nd, I think," Dorcas answered promptly.

"Dependable and slightly emotional, alright makes sense. I need one more person. Who are you picking to analyze?" Mary scribbled the date down.

"Well, myself, you, Alice and that's about it." Dorcas glossed over Marlene's name. "I'll just add Sirius, for the fun of it. He's a Gemini, alright." Dorcas scribbled on the piece of paper.

"And I'll add Remus, who's a...Pisces?" Mary shrugged as she noted it on her parchment. "By the way, where is Alice, wasn't she supposed to meet us here?"

"Yeah, she's probably in the Herbology classroom. Professor Tulip asked her to come over in her break, yesterday." Dorcas quickly finished up her graph.

"Right, right." Mary nodded, as she gathered up her books.

*****

It was late at night, but Dorcas was still working on Sirius' project. She wanted it to be truly perfect, maybe because she felt a slight sense of pity, but just as well wanted to see the opportunity. As she looked out the window, a shadow moved right below her and into the castle, leaving a trail of smoke behind them, but Dorcas didn't really care that much. It was probably one of the Seventh Years, who was trying to pull something.

"Hey, Dorcy," Mary whispered from under the duvets. "Can you sneak into the kitchen and grab me a pack of Toffees? I'm terribly craving some, and they would ease the period cramps."

"Fine, fine. But I'm grabbing something for myself as well, so don't think I'm only going for you." Dorcas sighed as she got out of her bed, slipping on her red velvet, slippers and coat while rushing out of the room.

She tiptoed past the portraits of Gryffindor wizards and witches, stepping carefully over the carpet and trying not to trip. She managed to get in and out of the portrait tunnel, leaving the Crown Lady, as Dorcas liked to call her, slightly bothered, but it didn't fully matter. Dorcas ran down the rock stairs, which were moving slightly less during the night, hoping to not encounter Filch, who would've given her terrible detention.

She finally reached the Hufflepuff tunnel, leading to both the kitchens and the Hufflepuff common room. Dorcas slithered inside, fitting right through, but to her surprise, someone was already there. 

"You're not supposed to be outside your dorm, kiddo." Andromeda Black stood up, a torn-up cigarette fit between her fingers, with a slightly empty Toffee packet in the other hand.

"I-I'm sorry." Dorcas stuttered.

"You need something?" 

"A Toffee packet." Dorcas eyed the one in her hand.

"Here." Andromeda tossed her the packet. "I'm not that hungry either way. Plus I've got some rum candy in my room, so I'm fine."

"Oh, thanks." Dorcas gripped the packet slightly.

"So," Andromeda sat back down, "You gon' tell me what's wrong?"

"I-There's nothing-" 

"Don't lie. You know, I have a superpower, I can tell when people are lying. You, Second-Years still believe in that, right?"

"I should go, you know you're doing something." Dorcas stepped back slightly pointing to the cigarette.

"Nah, don't worry about it. I should stop smoking either way, or else Mother will have a say about it." Andi sighed, dropping the cigarette, before patting down on the cold stone rock next to her. "So, tell me. I'm Head Girl, I have the right to force you to say stuff."

Dorcas quietly stepped up, sitting next to her on the cold stone rock. 

"Tell me anything and everything. It's not common to see a Second-Year downstairs so late. Usually, you all are goodie-two-shoes." Andromeda laid back on the kitchen door.

"Mary asked me, it wasn't a big deal."

"Right, right. But you were still awake?"

"Sirius asked me to work on his clothes."

"He did? Oh, Aunt's gonna kill him." Andromeda scoffed shaking her head, eyeing the ring on he hand, fidgeting with it.

"Is that from your betrothed?" Dorcas eyed it.

"Betrothed? Oh, Rabastan. Ha! No. He's a fool. This is from Ted. Ted Tonks. The Head Boy." Andi took it off, eyeing it. "He gave it to me on Valentine's Day."

"He sounds nice." Dorcas smiled.

"Yeah. I don't suppose you're into boys at your age." 

"No." Dorcas shook her head immediately.

"How about girls?" Andi looked at her, and Dorcas blushed terribly. "So it is a girl."

"Kinda. It feels weird. Y'know, there's not many girls that like other girls, if that makes sense."

"Maybe you've just never seen them. Don't ever listen to propaganda telling you who you have to like. Just let it flow. Go with your gut. I s'ppose it's stupid thinking about it at your age, but you'll thank me when you're older."

"Dating seems scary awful," Dorcas admitted. "My dad told me he embarrassed himself over sixty times before actually managing to talk to mum."

"Ha! Yes, it is scary, but it's just so bloody brilliant as well. It's all this flood of emotions overcoming you. When they talk to you when they hold you when they kiss you, especially when it's true love. That's hard to find." Andi trailed off, leaving a slight silence between the two girls.

"Elope," Dorcas stated fastly, as she stood fast.

"Wha are you talking about?" Andi raised her eyebrow.

"You heard me, elope with Ted. Do it. Leave Rabastan behind. Just go with Ted." Dorcas encouraged.

"I wish it was that simple..."

"Why can't it be? Just do it. You said it yourself: true love is hard to find, why not try to do it before it's too late?"

"Meadowes, you're smart for your age, so I suspect you understand, some things are just meant to be." Andi smiled, before taking out a piece of paper and scribbling an address over it. "You better get back to bed, but take this."

Dorcas grabbed the letter looking over at it: _Bent House Lane, Old Durham_.

"Owl me, if you need any more big sisterly advice. I have a feeling that you'll need it." Dorcas turned on her heels towards the stairs, but before she could leave Andromeda spoke once more: "Enjoy Hogwarts, Meadowes, it gets way worse from here on out. Promise me you will? Promise me you'll never hold back?" Andi's voice broke.

"I promise." Dorcas nodded, turning around to see the Seventh-Year girl, sobbing ever so slightly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did I choose Alice's birthday and sign off of my own because I basically project onto her? Yes, yes I did. (And if anyone is wondering, yes I love astrology)  
> 


	31. Second Year: Missing Muggles

_17th April, 1973_

_New Muggle-directed Attack in Plymouth, 30 dead, 2 injured_

_\- Ministress of Magic, Eugenia Jenkins calls for help from all wizards and witches_

_By Wanda Swarm, with the help of Rita Skeeter_

"Bloody hell," Alice swore as the girls sat at the table, awaiting Professor Tutman to arrive. Both Alice and Lily were turned to face the newspaper, lying in front of Dorcas, staring right back at her.

"Voldemort's rising in power isn't he?" Mary gulped.

"Probably gaining more support, from the supremacists," Alice suggested.

"Are your uncle and aunt...?" Dorcas whispered.

"I-I wouldn't know." 

"Has Warner said anything?" Lily pressed.

"No. We don't talk, he's mostly with Regulus and the rest of the Slytherins. Not with Snape though, that was a smart choice." Alice shrugged.

"Hear about the attack, Macdonald?" Mulciber smirked, from the table next to theirs, "You'll be next."

"I'm not a Muggle, you fool." Mary spat back.

"Like they make a distinction between two mudbloods. There's no difference, except that you stole magic from us."

"Shut up, Mulciber." Dorcas patted Mary on the back, as the professor finally entered the room, scurrying with his old leather bag, behind him.

"Morning class. Settle down, now." Tutman unpacked his bag, as the class cleared back, to each one's seat. "I'm sure you've heard of the attacks, and so today I'd like to repeat some of your defence spells against potential attackers, say werewolves or Death Eaters."

"Of course he brings up werewolves." Dorcas rolled her eyes, making Mary snigger slightly.

"Miss Meadowes. Would you mind demonstrating the first one?" Tutman brought out a dummy.

Dorcas sighed, before getting up, going to the front. She drew her wand, positioning herself in front of the dummy.

"Try to actually aim, Miss Meadowes, not just swish and flick. It's not Charms." Tutman tutted.

"Petrificus Totalus." Dorcas quickly said, turning the dummy into frozen stone. "No swish and flicks, Professor."

"Uh, right. You may go back to your seat. Next person?" Tutman clearly wanted to move on.

Dorcas got back to her seat, high-fiving Mary.

*****

The library was rather quiet, even if Madam Pince wasn't there. a few Fifth-Years were sitting in the corner, gossiping and looking over the newspaper that had come out. Dorcas was still rather shaken, especially considering the attack had happened in Plymouth, so close to home. But if anyone did happen with her mother, she probably would have been the first to know. She knew that Remus was probably also shaken about it, which was the exact reason she was here. Sirius had told her that he had spent an unhealthy amount of time in there, so she was supposed to find him here. And Sirius was correct, Remus was sitting in the corner, looking over his books.

"You alright, Remy?" Dorcas giggled, as she sat down next to the boy, in the library.

"Can you not call me that? Why cal me something so stupid?" Remus sighed, putting his book back on the table.

"What else do you want me to call you? Remus was the guy that lost after all. Would you prefer Romulus?" Dorcas jokingly suggested.

"No, no, no. Just go with...Lupin. Everyone calls me that." Remus suggested, clearly hoping she'd agree.

"Like the moon? Alright then, Lupin." Dorcas sighed, looking over his shoulder. "So, whatcha reading again?"

"I'm trying to do homework. Astrology and History of Magic. It's a bore." 

"With Astrology, I can help. Some say I'm even better than Peter." Dorcas grabbed his book, looking over it. "Extra work, Moony? Really?"

"I missed the last two weeks of homework. Professor Sinistra told me I had to do this, or not I was getting detention." Remus shrugged, continuously scribbling on the paper.

"Let's see. Highest and lowest compatibility, well I got this. So opposite is Virgo, so I'm guessing you're least compatible with them." Dorcas shrugged.

"You're very bad at this." Remus scoffed. "Opposing signs are madly connected to one another. Virgo and Pisces are highly compatible." 

"Oh..." Dorcas seethed. "Well, my homework is wrong then."

"Gemini is the least, alright. This is all too far-fetched." Remus slammed the book shut. 

"I suppose, but it is fun." 

"Sure..." Remus sighed, finishing up History.

"By the way, have you heard of attacks?" Dorcas sat back.

"Yeah...Mum's having me come back for Summer. Probably not gonna be allowed outside for a while, though at least Madam Pomfrey will-" He stopped on his words.

"Madam Pomfrey? She's visiting you? Why?" 

"Oh, she's a family friend." Remus nodded.

"That makes sense, though she can't be the best of company, can she?" 

"She's alright, I suppose. By the way, Sirius has been talking a lot, but are you making him, clothes?"

"Yes...? She nodded, taken aback by his change in tone.

"What for?" Remus eyed her.

"Y'know, just for fun, I suppose?" 

"That sounds rubbish," Remus admitted.

"Who are you to talk, Mr Always-Stuck-In-The-Library?" Dorcas mimicked him.

"Shove off, you don't know anything," Remus grumbled. "I'm just saying, it's stupid. He has money, so you doing it for him is pathetic."

"Maybe I'm doing it for practice, and not only for him? Did that ever stumble across your mind?"

"I'm just saying, jeez." Remus rolled his eyes.

"Merlin, Lupin, what's pricking you?" Dorcas asked.

"Nothing, jeez. I'm just saying, act more normal. Making clothes is just weird."

"What's the problem with making clothes? It's fun and since when are you all in my business?" Dorcas eyed him.

"It's just stupid and too girly." Remus eyed her back.

"In case you haven't noticed, I am a girl." 

"Yeah, but you're acting...never mind." He huffed.

"Remus, I have no idea what's gotten into you, but I think I'm not the problem, so I'm just gonna let you figure it out." Dorcas got up, off of the couch and quietly left the library.

Remus was acting off. He definitely had something going on and Dorcas certainly didn't want to get involved.


	32. Second Year: Confringo

Remus had begun ignoring Dorcas even more the past few weeks. As a matter of fact, all the boys had been rather reserved, very unlike them. It was foolish to look into it, obviously, but Dorcas felt as if something was off. However, with the exams approaching, there wasn't too much time to waste. This year, Dorcas wanted to do better, perhaps Lily had rubbed off on her ever so slightly, even if she wasn't around much, clearly getting along with Marlene and Emmeline more and more. Needless to say, Dorcas spent much of her time with Mary and Alice, as per usual, helping each other with homework and such.

"Do we need to know how to handle the Medusa plant?" Mary looked up from her notebook.

"You mean the Euphorbia Medusa's Head? Obviously, but that's easy peasy. I just hope we don't have to see the Mandrakes again. Merlin, that awful creature hurt my ears." Alice shuddered to look over her History of Magic notes.

"Remember when Benjy fainted?" Mary chuckled, as she flipped the parchment.

"Oh poor him." Alice sighed. 

"Eh, he'll get over it, he's fine." Mary shrugged, looking over to where Dorcas was scribbling on her parchment, " is bothering you?"

"Yes. Bloody hell, who decided that a Fire-Protection Spell would actually be a good thing?" Dorcas lifted her head. "I honestly don't understand how Lily gets all of this."

"Me either." Alice breathed, as she laid her head on her hand. "Hey, by the way, where are you guys going this Summer?" 

"Scotland. Mother wants us to get some fresh air. Apparently, the mountains will do that." Mary explained.

"I'm gonna stay home. Not much to do in Devon, although probably I'll stay inside mostly." Dorcas nodded.

"That doesn't sound very fun." Alice eyed the girl.

"That's because it isn't."

*****

The students all gathered outside the Herbology classroom, but soon enough Professor Tulip ushered them inside the greenhouse. Dorcas sat next to Mary, as per usual, in the very back. Professor Tulip rummaged through her stuff, before getting out a bunch of papers. Herbology was usually chaos, as Tulip had no idea how to control the class, in fact, she could only control the plants. She was rather short, always having a smile on her face, and an extra big one every time someone got the answer right. 

"Today, we'll be doing something a little different." Tulip sighed as she got up from under the table, clearly having not found the curriculum for that day, "Since I can't see where I could've possibly left the material for today, we'll be doing revisions, to get you guys ready for the exams, or at least help you a bit. I'll pare most of you, according to your levels in Herbology, so the not-so-great people can have the opportunity to talk with the ones that can. How does it sound?" The class groaned slightly, but Tulip was still smiling, even if she was gritting her teeth slightly.

"Alrighty then, uh Miss Fortescue, go with Mr Fenwick. Mr Diggory, go with Mr Potter. Mr Lupin with Mr Pettigrew. Mr Black go with Miss Attar. Miss Evans, you'll go with Mr Gudgeon. Then, Miss Macdonald, go with Mr Finnigan. And finally, Miss Tomboli, with Miss Meadowes. The rest of you pair up how you wish, I must go see Professor Slughorn, so don't destroy anything yet." Tulip nodded, as she gripped her hat ad robes, rushing out of the Greenhouse.

Dorcas eyed Nisha, and as everyone was moving around, to go with their own friends, Nisha stood up as well. The girl walked over to Dorcas, pulling up a chair, sitting in front of her, crossed-legged.

"Hey. I'm Nisha." The girl held out her hand and Dorcas quickly took it.

"Dorcas."

"Pleasure." Nisha opened up the book, looking over the contents. "Ok so what do you want to be quizzed on first?"

"Uh, you pick, I'm fine either way."

"Alright, then I'll go with my favourite: _Venomous Tentacula_. This should be easy."

"It's a magical plant, with spikes, I think and obviously venom. It's also extremely dangerous." Dorcas explained.

"Yea, but it is a pity. I'd enjoy seeing a bit more about it, sounds brilliant. Guess I'll wait until Sixth-Year, then. Your turn." She flipped the book, facing Dorcas.

"How about...Mandrakes?" 

"Oh they're easy. Magical rooted plant, shaped like a baby. The adult scream can be lethal, but the baby will merely make you faint. Ehm, like Benjy, did." Nisha commented, making him turn around begrudgingly.

"Not my fault, no one told me." 

"Professor Tulip did, she told us, you weren't listening." Nisha fought back, making him turn around again.

Suddenly, Dorcas's eye caught something. She whipped around on her chair, looking closely and two figures, in green robes, holding something, walking towards the woods.

"Dorcas...?" Nisha eyed her, curiously, trailing off.

"Shh, look." Dorcas grabbed her by the hand, pointing towards the figures.

"Those look like Slytherins." Nisha whispered back. "Where could they possibly be going?"

"I suppose the Forbidden Forest, but why?" Dorcas looked back at her.

"Hagrid. Crikey. That's not good." Nisha whimpered.

"What do you mean?"

"Let's just say, Hagrid kinda caught a few Slytherins sneaking out at night, and reported them. It was apparently Malfoy and his gang. They're the Slytherin leaders, meaning if they got pissed, everyone did. That's how it works." 

"Bloody hell. What could they possibly do though? It's not like the Groundskeeper has much to offer in his hut. Not to them anyway." 

"But what's in there is important to Hagrid. There's a reason why it's on the edge of the Forbidden Forest, it's his place. Wait." Nisha gulped. "Could they possibly burn it down?"

"I-I don't think so. Why would they do that? It just wouldn't be logical. Plus Hagrid's probably there." 

"Hagrid left a day ago for Dumbledore. And do Slytherins ever act logically?" Nisha sighed, her breath tightening.

"Bloody hell." Dorcas felt her heart begin beating rapidly. "Should we go...stop it? Or something?"

"How? We're Second Years, and if it's Malfoy, he knows so many bloody spells. What if it's Snape? That guy is our age but knows ten times the dark spells which even Sixth Years don't know most of them."

"We can't just sit here and do nothing. If they are burning Hagrid's Hut down, shouldn't we try to help?" Dorcas egged her on.

"Fine, but if we get cursed, it's your fault." Nisha got up, helping Dorcas out of her seat.

"Where are you two going?" Benjy looked at them.

"Just to go check out something, don't worry. We'll be right back before the teacher comes." Nisha grabbed Dorcas, by the hand, and without another word, they rushed outside of the Greenhouse, going towards the forest.

The girls rushed slightly behind a few trees, peeking over the branches, to see exactly who they dreaded most. Malfoy and Rowle. They were holding their wands, pointed right at Hagrid's hut. Dorcas gripped onto Nisha's hand, holding her back. They couldn't possibly fight them off, so they had to wait, and then undo the curse, hopefully, it being able to be undone. 

" _Confringo_." Malfoy shouted, sending a red flame towards the hut. Both Dorcas and Nisha fell backwards, feeling the pressure of the spell.

"Crap." Dorcas quickly helped up Nisha, going back in their hiding spot, as Malfoy and Rowle were backing away from the destroyed hut.

As the boys left, the girls got out of their hiding spot, looking over at the destroyed hut. The roof was completely blown off. It was even worse than if a fire had occurred. The only thing sort of left standing was the table. Even the chairs were completely broken. Glass was shattered everywhere. Dorcas had never been inside the Hut, so she didn't feel too bad, but Nisha looked extremely upset.

"Crap, crap, crap." She breathed, looking over the hill, where someone seemed to become.

"Let's go, they'll fix it." Dorcas grabbed Nisha, this time, rushing back to the Greenhouse.

*****

The Dinner Hall was awfully silent that evening. Everyone had heard of the attack, and everyone knew who it had been, or at least suspected them, though no one dared speak. Dorcas was silent, eating trembling slightly, looking over at the Hufflepuff table. Nisha seemed just as distraught, despite both Davey and Amos comforting her.

"Evening, students. As most of you have probably heard, Hagrid's Hut has been blown away. If anyone has any information on the perpetrators, inform your Head of House immediately. as for the actual ones that have destroyed it, I wish for you to quickly fess up, for the consequences may be more lenient. But either way, I assure you, the consequences will be severe, as you have hurt one of the staff. Expulsion will be an option, if you don't confess within a week, before your exams. If we find out who has done this, you will be expulsed. So, I urge you to confess, by your own will." Dumbledore threatened, sounding severe.

Dorcas looked over at the Slytherin table. Big mistake. Rowle was eyeing her, daring her to speak up. He knew.


	33. Second Year: Choices

The full week of exams had been truly tiresome. Dorcas suspected she had done rather well, at least better than last year. Herbology had gone alright, luckily they only needed to take care of a Mandrake, so nothing too complicated. Defence Against the Dark Arts had been rather disgraceful, considering how many questions were about werewolves. History had gone way better than last year, th questions finally being interesting and not impossible. Even the essay, about the Sumerians, had been fascinating. As for the Charms and Astrology exam, it had gone just as well as last year, as she only had to write about the different charms and map the astrological birth chart, respectively. Potions had been rather hard, so Dorcas didn't expect much improvement there.

Transfigurations had been their last exam, seemingly appropriate as it was the hardest. Even Lily had looked up from her parchment, eyeing Dorcas or Mary in hopes for answers, but they didn't know a few either. Hopefully, they had at least passed. At the end of the exam, McGonagall had passed two pieces of parchment: a permission slip, and a choices list, filled with extra subjects to take.

"For next year, if you wish to go on Hogsmeade trips, you need to have the permission slip signed by a guardian, while the choices list will be the electives you need to take. These will be added to your list of subjects, along with the core ones. At least two extra subjects are compulsory. Bring it back to your Head of House, by the end of the semester." McGonagall nodded, as she placed them onto the student's tables. 

Dorcas was still thinking about her choices, as she sat in her dorm room, along with the other girls.

"What're you picking, Dorcy?" Alice looked up from the table, finishing up the last homework of the year.

"I have no idea, you?"

"Well, I'm picking Muggle Studies, just to spite Aunt and Uncle, seeing as they advised me not to." The girl scoffed, "As well, as Divination. Seems rather interesting, gifted of sight and all that. Probably I'll take Care of Magical Creatures as well, seeing as we get to work with Hippogriffs. Mage told me we do, at least."

"I'm picking Arithmancy and Ancient Runes," Lily spoke up, for once. "I would take Muggle Studies, but it's not like I don't know much about it already."

"Really Lily? You're not picking much." Mary commented, "Well, I'm picking Ancient Runes, Care of Magical Creatures and Divination, to keep you some company, Aly. Although I agree with Lily, Muggle Studies isn't that useful." She looked in Dorcas' direction. "Dorcy, you do realize, you need to pick something, right?"

"Yes." Dorcas groaned, laying on her back. "Ok, so I'm definitely taking Ancient Runes and Care of Magical Creatures. As for anything else, I'm taking Arithmancy." Dorcas nodded.

"Arithmancy? Really?" Alice eyed her. "Didn't know you liked numbers."

"I, well, not so much. But, magical properties seems interesting. Plus, a challenge does sound interesting." Dorcas nodded, noting everything down.

"You're not getting Divination?" Mary looked at her.

"Don't think so." Dorcas shrugged. "As cool as seeing the future sounds, I don't think I want to know."

"Well, Dorcy, we'll be together in Arithmancy." Lily smiled. "I think Marlene'll be there as well. Emmeline as well. We'll be a quadruple. Speaking of them, I promised I'd got with them to I've in their list, see you guys later!" Lily quickly got up scurrying out of the room, while Mary clearly was holding in her laughter.

"Such a _happy_ quadruple, Dorcy." Mary sniggered, as soon as the door closed shut.

"Shove off." Dorcas threw a pillow in her direction, chuckling all the same.

*****

Dinner was rather quiet, as it had been the past few weeks. The culprit had yet to be found, and Dorcas did feel guilty about not saying anything, but she didn't want the Slytherins to find out, since she wanted to at least live until she was 30, and everyone knew even some Slytherins could get away with murder. Hagrid was still not back from whatever trip, he was on, though undoubtedly, he probably wasn't coming back until next year, considering they had to rebuild his hut.

"I hate to disturb you from eating..." Dumbledore stood up, everyone's attention-drawing towards him, "But, considering as the culprit hasn't yet confessed, the leniency must stop. IF anyone knows anything, I urge you to tell your Prefects, the Head Boy/Girl or even your Head of House. You may resume eating."

Dorcas looked over at where Nisha was sitting. They eyed one another, before looking back at the teacher's table where most of the teachers were whispering.

"Terrible, don't you think, Dorcy?" Mary whispered.

"Yeah" Dorcas gulped, feeling a sense of guilt.

*****

The students were dismissed, soon thereafter, ordered to go back to their dorms, as the teachers were holding a meeting, no doubt talking about the incident. Alice, Dorcas and Mary all left, one after the other, into the hall, as they were among the last. Rowle, Malfoy and Lestrange were all there, leaning on the walls, whispering. Dorcas gripped Mary and Alice by the wrists, turning to leave, but it was slightly too late.

"Meadowes." Rowle's raspy voice growled.

Dorcas turned around, reaching for her wand.

"Don't bother. Just want to talk." Malfoy scoffed. "Simple as that."

"Dorcas..." Mary gulped, warningly.

"Just want to make sure, you don't go telling the wrong sorts of stuff to anyone. Wouldn't want something to happen, would we now?" Lestrange joked.

"You can't make me do anything." Dorcas gritted, grabbing her wand even quicker.

"Oh, but we can," Rowle growled, grabbing his wand out of his robes. "You wouldn't want your Squib of a brother to get hurt, now, would you?"

Dorcas was taken aback slightly. How did they...

"I don't have a Squib brother." She stood her ground. 

"Darry, was his name, right boys?" Malfoy smirked, looking back at his friends.

"Would be a shame if he disappeared, perhaps in the woods, taken by werewolves. Rip him to shreds, they would. Oh, they'd go even farther." Rowle stepped closer, taunting her, "Drown him in the lake, blood everywhere."

"All that, so you don't get taken out of school?" Dorcas gulped, feeling her heart rise into her throat. Mary and Alice were, luckily, staying quiet.

"You'd be quite surprised, Meadowes. Hogwarts is quite the place." He scoffed. "And your brother, just another number of the missing muggles."

"You wouldn't dare. There aren't any werewolves in the forest near my house."

"Oh really?" Rowle chuckled, as he lent down. "Does a pair of red eyes sound familiar to you?"

Dorcas felt herself go pale. The red eyes. The flashbacks, nightmares, all of it because of werewolves. She had defended the ones that had tried to attack her.

"You don't-you're wrong." She stuttered over her words.

"Am I now?" Rowle got back up. "Do we have a deal?"

Suddenly, another voice came, from the stairs.

"There they are! Gods, Rowle, stealing my housemates, are you?" Donna approached the crowd, making Dorcas sigh in relief. "Now, if you're jealous of having bad witches, just say so. Don't need to be petty here." Donna patted Dorcas, on the shoulder, as well as the other girls.

"Just having a friendly convo." Rowle smiled, backing off. 

"May I ask about what, or is it a secret? I'm good with secrets, don't worry." Donna gripped onto Dorcas' shoulder.

"You're no secret-keeper." Malfoy stepped up.

"Oh Malfoy, you have no idea." She rolled her eyes. "Now if you don't mind, I'd like to follow Dumbledore's orders and bring them up to their dorm."

"Of course." Lestrange nodded, as Donna took the three girls up the stairs, up to the Gryffindor common room.

When they finally reached the Gryffindor common room, Donna dismissed both Mary and Alice but insisted Dorcas should stay.

"What'd they tell you?" She bent down, looking straight into Dorcas' deep brown eyes.

"Nothing..."

"Listen, they can't do much. They might be purebloods, but they're only heirs, not the heads of what happens."

"Still, they threatened to kill my brother." Dorcas gulped.

"Of course they did. Bastards." Donna huffed. "Listen, why were they threatening you?"

"I kinda saw them..."

"Saw them do what-?"

"Saw them destroy Hagrid's hut." 

"I knew it. Amelia owes me five galleons." 

"You can't tell anyone. I don't want my brother to get killed." Dorcas pleaded.

"Don't worry, they won't know it was you. Only the teacher's will. And I'll inform them of their threats. Who was it specifically?"

"Rowle and Malfoy," Dorcas whispered, scared of them hear.

"Got it. Don't worry, they'll get what's coming. Now go join your friends, and don't tell them of this, though I suppose they already suspect it." Donna patted her again on the back, side-hugging her. "Your brother won't get in harm's way." She let go.

Dorcas stumbled as she entered the portrait tunnel, but as she looked back, she saw Donna leave, before the portrait door slammed shut.


	34. Second Year: The Last Days (Part One)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Song mentioned: You've Got A Friend-by Carole King)

_If the sky above you_

_Grows dark and full of clouds_

_And that old north wind begins to blow_

_Keep your head together_

_And call my name out loud_

_Soon you'll hear me knocking at your door_

The news travelled fast. Thorfinn Rowle had been expulsed from Hogwarts, the first expulsion in a decade. The last known one was about a murder, though Dorcas didn't know who'd done it. His sister had been taken out of the school as well, probably as they were gonna transfer somewhere. The rumours had said that they were already at Durmstrang: the Nordic school, infamous for having raised murderers and actually teaching the Dark Arts. 

As for Dorcas, her nightmares had begun reappearing yet again, the beady red eyes staring right back at her, as they chased Darryl into a river. They probably weren't going to get better, either way, considering that Malfoy had magically escaped expulsion. He was in Seventh-Year either way, so it wouldn't be wise to kick him out before graduation. Dorcas seemed to be the only on the edge as the end of the year was quietly approaching.

"C'mon, Dorcy." Mary grabbed her by the arm, leading her through the halls. "You should really stop letting people get under your skin."

"You would be worried too if your sister was being threatened." Dorcas shrugged.

"I don't think so-She is clogging up my room. And I could have so much more space..." Dorcas pushed the giggling girl, slightly.

"Right got it. But I actually like my brother. I don't want him to die." She sighed.

"He won't. Rowle's words were as empty as his head." Mary commented, making Dorcas laugh slightly.

The two girls approached McGonagall's office, but someone was already exiting the room. Remus. He had a bandage all over his face, the scars looking rather brutal. 

"Remy-I mean Moony, are you ok?" Dorcas called as he passed them.

"I'm fine." He grumbled, passing by them.

"What's wrong with him?" Mary looked directly at him.

"I couldn't tell you." Dorcas gulped, as the two girls pushed past, into McGonagall's office.

"Evening girls, what can I help you with?" 

"We have the choices list." The two girls laid the slips on her desk.

"Miss Meadowes, I wish to talk to you." McGonagall nodded. "You may stay. Miss Macdonald, you may leave."

Mary squeezed Dorcas' hand before quickly leaving the room.

"Yes, professor? I haven't gotten trouble again, have I?" Dorcas sat herself down.

"No, of course not. Actually, I'm extremely pleased with your exam results, it's clear that you're trying harder." McGonagall commented, still looking at the choices. "You're here, so we can talk about something else. I believe you know about Hagrid's Hut and what happened there. Correct?"

"I-Yes." Dorcas nodded.

"And you didn't dare tell anyone, except Miss Shacklebolt?" McGonagall raised her eyebrow.

"Yes. Is that all, professor?"

"Not yet. Miss Meadowes, do tell me, what stopped you from telling anyone?"

"I believe you know, professor." Dorcas stood her ground.

"Your brother. So you've met werewolves?"

"I don't need to answer this." 

"No, you do not, but it would be helpful." 

"To whom? The Ministry?" Dorcas gritted her teeth. "Aren't they the reason we have a werewolf-hating the teacher? Aren't they the reason that werewolves are outcasts? Aren't they the reason Voldemort is at large and my dad has to go risk his life, for some useless cause?" 

"Dorcas, be careful what you say. And no, it's not the Ministry wishing to know this." McGonagall sighed. "If you wish for your brother to be protected, then you must tell us what you saw."

"So Dumbledore is at fault for this?"

"It's Headmaster Dumbledore, Miss Meadowes," McGonagall warned.

"Fine. Yes, it might've been werewolves." Dorcas gave in.

"Might've been?"

"As in we only saw a figure and some beady red eyes, so we can't be sure." 

"We?" McGonagall persisted.

"Me, Darryl, Amos and Willow." Dorcas nodded.

"Two Squibs and two wizards? What were you doing in the forest either way?"

"Me and Darryl always went there when we were small, with dad. I didn't think it was a big deal." She shrugged.

"Dorcas, have you heard of Death Eaters?" McGonagall ushered her voice.

"Allies of Voldemort?" Dorcas guessed.

"Close allies, more specifically wizards and witches. The Rowles, apart from being pureblood, were found of having ties to Voldemort. They are now on the run and Headmaster Dumbeldore believes they may pay you a visit at your house.

"Oh, how pleasant." Dorcas scoffed.

"Especially if werewolves were found before in your area, they're after something or someone." McGonagall gulped. "Do you have any friends you could stay over perhaps, for the Summer, along with your brother? Seeing as Willow and Amos both have parents staying home, they're not in much danger. As for your parents, they may need to move location, for their safety, and it wouldn't be wise to take two children with them."

"I could ask Mary, I suppose." Dorcas shrugged.

"YES!" Mary stumbled back into the room, jumping up and down.

"Miss Macdonald." McGonagall sighed.

"Sorry professor, does this mean Dorcas can come with me for the holidays?" 

"Yes, if you're willing to take in two-"McGonagall began.

"Yes, yes, yes." Mary nodded, jumping up and down.

"Alright girls. I'll contact your parents about this, and hopefully, they'll agree."

"Thank you, professor." Mary squealed, grabbing Dorcas by the arm, and dragging her out of the room. "We'll have so much Dorcy, don't you worry."

"I have no doubts." Dorcas smiled, still rather worried about the whole situation.


	35. Second Year: The Last Days (Part Two)

_"I am not afraid of storms, for I am learning how to sail my ship."_

\- Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott.

The last day had finally come, after a long year of trials and failure. Dorcas felt herself more relaxed, seeing as she wasn't going to completely have to leave this world behind, being with Mary and all. In fact, Mary seemed desperately excited as they all packed their bags. Alice seemed extremely disappointed, clearly not liking the fact that she'd have to stay with her Aunt and Uncle yet again.  Dorcas looked over her shoulder at the little table beside her, now bare, bed. Darryl had sent her a letter, for the first time just yesterday, and she hadn't stopped reading it.

_ Dorcy, _

_ Piss off. Why do we have to go to some random girl's house?  _ _ Is this your fault? If it is, I hate you. C'mon, I had a bet with William on who could piss off Miss. Wellington the most, and I was so close to winning.  _ _ But no, you had to go and ruin it all. I'm not at MacDonald's house and they're way too bloody nice. I mean, Sarnai is cute, ok don't kill me. But she has a boyfriend and they won't stop snogging. Seriously, who snogs this much? I literally walked in on them making out yesterday and it still haunts me. _

_ If you don't get here by tomorrow, I'm committing personal arson, as in I'm setting myself on fire and if I feel like it, you too. _

_ Love, _

_ Your unlucky brother. _

_ P.S The dog chewed all of my socks, so I have to use fricking Jacob's ones. He sweats so bloody much. Mind if you buy me some socks on the way?  _

"Your brother seems nice." Lily snorted as she read the letter.

"Yea, it's his way of saying he loves me." Dorcas shrugged.

"He just said he wants to set you on fire?"

"At least he doesn't want to stab me. I call it an improvement." Dorcas sat on her trunk. "Mary, can you close this?"

"Sure." Mary bent down, closing the trunk shut. "And your brother sounds like he has a crush on my sister."

"Yes. Yes, it does." Dorcas nodded.

"How old is he anyway?" Mary asked.

"Thirteen. Just a year older than us."

"Why Mary, you got a crush on him or something?" Alice piped up.

"No. Obviously not." Mary shook her head.

"If they kiss, Dorcas, you tell us immediately, got it?" Lily looked over at her.

"Right, right, of course." Dorcas nodded, making Mary scoff.

"She won't need to. Boys are...weird." She trailed off.

*****

Everyone was chattering, trying to peek beneath the banners to see who had won the House Cup, but alas they were completely stuck together. Dorcas looked over at the boys, seemingly different. They all seemed a little bit taller, even Peter who had gotten slightly more confident. _Good for him_ , Dorcas thought.

"Ah yes, yet another year has passed." Dumbledore sighed, as he got up. "I'd say enough adventures for a lifetime, but knowing Hogwarts, there's more to come. I wish to congratulate the graduating class of 1973, as well as, what most of you are probably expecting, the House Cup. Without any further ado, coming straight last with 315 points, is Slytherin. I suppose we all know why. With 402 points, comes Gryffindor, the third-place winner. Second place goes to Ravenclaw, with 495 points. and with 507 points, comes Hufflepuff!" Everyone clapped, as the banners released, the badger appearing.

"Yes!" The Friar jumped up and down, excitedly, along with the other Hufflepuffs, among which were Nisha, Amos and Davey.

"Oy Rosy, does feel bad to come in the last place, doesn't it?" James nodded towards the Slytherin table.

"Piss off, Potter." Rosier snapped back.

"But you didn't answer the question?" Lily looked up from the table.

"Shut up you filthy mudblood." Rosier looked at her.

"Do you have a bigger vocabulary, you moron?" Mudblood this and mudblood that, jeez." Dorcas rolled her eyes.

"Oh, do cut him some slack, Dorcy. I don't think he has enough brain cells for all that." Mary stepped in. "Truly pitiable."

Rosier scoffed but didn't dare speak more, as he turned back around.

"Bloody brilliant, Evans," James spoke up.

"Thanks, I guess." Lily shrugged looking back at the girls.

"Who has a crush now?" Mary taunted.

"Oh do shove off. Sincerely." Lily smiled slightly but continued eating nonetheless.

*****

The train ride had been one of a kind, for sure, with all the girls screaming, and just having simple fun. However, as they got off of the platform, they had to say the dreaded goodbyes. Alice hugged both Mary and Dorcas dearly, before trudging off towards her Aunt and Uncle.

"I'll miss you two." Alice turned around one last time, before turning back to her guardians.

"C'mon, dad said he's waiting for us at the other side of the train station, apparently because he can't enter through the wall. Being Muggle and all, I think." Mary shrugged, grabbing Dorcas by the arm, the two carrying their owl cages and trunks with them towards the entrance. Sure, the Muggle eyes were watching them, but all the same, it must've looked slightly off with the two owls.

"Mary!" A girl, who looked like the impeccable image of Mary, down to every detail, except for her eyes, looking slightly darker than Mary's, approached both girls. "Oh, you must be Dorcas. Pleasure." She held out her hand.

"Yes, yeah. Who are you, may I ask? Dorcas shook her hand.

"Dorcy, this is my sister, Zaya." Mary nodded.

"Yeap, the older sister of the most annoying brat ever, that's me." Zaya smiled.

"Stop." Mary scoffed.

"Fine, fine." Zaya messed up her hair. "Don't know how you were able to keep up with her. Anyways, dad couldn't come, so Jacob's taking us back."

"Your boyfriend? You're gonna run us off the road, with all your snogging." Mary commented, crossing her arms.

"Darryl's waiting at home. He's helping mum make the buuz and chicken inasal. Though, seeing as Dad's not home they're struggling with the chicken." Zaya explained.

"What're those?" Dorcas' eyes darted from one sister to the other, waiting for an explanation.

"Buuz is basically meat dumpling, quite common in Mongolia, actually. Mom makes it quite often since she's from there. And chicken inasal is basically grilled chicken, just better. You'll love it. Of course, we also have pizza if you don't want-"

"No, it's fine. I want to try." Dorcas smiled, interrupting her.

Zaya stopped for a moment. "You know what, I like this one, Mary. Better than all the other spoiled brats you were friends with. Though, maybe they just mirrored you. Huh? What a thought-"

"Stop." Mary smacked her, making Dorcas chuckle slightly.

This was going to be one heck of a Summer, but the thought of her mum and dad being unsafe crept up at the back of her mind, waiting to come up.


	36. Summer 1973: Part One (Thirteen)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Song mentioned: Thirteen-by Big Star)

_Won't you tell your dad get off my back?_

_Tell him what we said about "Paint It, Black"_

_Rock and roll is here to stay_

_Come inside, well, it's ok_

_And I'll shake you_

_Ooh-hoo_

Being thirteen isn't as special as someone would expect. Dorcas didn't know what to expect as she woke up on her birthday. Balloons? Maybe a letter of congratulations on having survived thirteen years into the world, something along those lines. What she didn't expect, was no one being in the room, being greeted only by the warm sunshine light blazing through the window. Mary's room was quite small, barely fitting both girls inside, but it was still rather comfy, with the fluffy, blue covers and matching turquoise pillow-covers. She had a glorious, black painted bookshelf with small forest trees on the edges, seemingly holding up the books. It was hand-crafted, as Mary had explained, by Mr Macdonald.

A wooden table, with a pale pink mirror attached to it, was sitting in front of the window. Stacks of letters, each tightly wrapped in tulip red strings, collected by Dorcas and Darryl, from their parents. Mrs Meadowes had sent them almost every day. Even today sat sitting a brand new one, clearly addressed to Dorcas. She took a mental note to read it later that day. Suddenly, as Dorcas was finally getting out of bed, the door opened, revealing Mary.

"You're up, already? That's a surprise." She chuckled slightly.

"C'mon, trust me a little. And since when are you an early bird?" Dorcas began doing the bed, wrapping the duvets in the corners of the mattress.

"Let me do it, it's your birthday after all. Are you excited?" Mary jumped to help.

"I mean, nothing's changed, has it?" Dorcas pointed at herself.

"Twirl around a little." Mary stopped, crossing her arms, as Dorcas turned around. "Still as awkward as ever."

"Brilliant." Dorcas scoffed, as the girls finished up cleaning.

"Mum left to go to town, to get some cake decorations, for the Lemon Chiffon Cake, y'know candles and such?" Mary explained. "Unfortunately, you'll have to meet Jacob. Gods, I have that guy."

"Me too." Darryl walked into the room, throwing himself onto the bean bag chair.

"Oh bother, you only hate him, cause you like Sarnai." Mary scoffed, throwing the pillows in his direction. "Change these why you're at it."

"I do not. He's just very annoying. Point blank." Darryl began changing them one after another.

"I wouldn't describe him as annoying, maybe nonchalant, a burden or just plain boring. You'd think my sister would have better taste in guys, after reading all of those books. How can you possibly go from Aragorn to _Jacob_."

"I HEARD THAT!" Zayai's voice shouted across the hall. "Darryl, can you help me with the balloons?"

"Coming." Darryl rang back. "Oh, and happy birthday, Dorcy." He ran out of the room, closing the door behind him.

"Who's Aragorn?" Dorcas muttered.

"The guy from Lord of the Rings. Oh, you'll see." Mary smirked. "Just wait for your present."

*****

Nightfall quickly approached, as they had spent the day playing all sorts of games, and Zaya bossing them around on how to set up the decorations. The TV was on, with _The Wombles_ playing in the background, replaying the last episode, yet again. Dorcas found it amusing, though she couldn't possibly pay attention for long enough to some creatures setting up a circus or something like that.

Now, they were all sitting in the living room, even Mr and Mrs Macdonald, eating cake. Dorcas loved the lemon sour taste in her mouth, mixed with vanilla, and clearly so did almost everyone else. Jacob wasn't a big fan of it, though he kept on eating it. He was rather tall, with a lean figure and a visible Adam's apple. He seemed rather sweet, despite all of Mary's protests. Dorcas did have her own suspicions of why her friend hated him so much. For one, it couldn't be too fun having to share your sibling with someone.

"Wanna open the presents now, or later?" Mary whispered.

"However you want, really." Dorcas shrugged.

"Later it is then." Mary nodded, eyeing Jacob, clearly mad at him, but not daring speak.

*****

It was around midnight when everyone went to bed. Dorcas and Mary, however, had gotten the presents upstairs, along with a porcelain plate with boortsog (Dorcas' new favourite cookies). They turned on the lamp, rendering light within the, now seemingly orange, room. Mary grabbed a few pillows at the two girls, now in the pyjamas. There weren't too many presents to go through, but still a lot in Dorcas' eyes. The door opened slightly, as three other people entered, much to Mary's displeasure.

"What're you guys doing 'ere?" Mary looked at her sister, Darryl and Jacob.

"Calm down, I just wanted to see Dorcas' reaction to my gift." Sarnai nodded, as she sat down on the carpet.

"And I wanted to stay up later." Darry shrugged, and along with Jacob, he sat down.

"Alright then, don't make too much noise. Mum and Dad will kill us all if we wake them up." Mary nodded towards Dorcas, as she grabbed a random present from the middle.

"That's mine." Jacob squealed, ending him with Mary's death stare.

"Great." Dorcas unpacked it, revealing a woollen hat. "It's cute." 

"Put it on." Jacob encouraged.

"It's like 20° C-" Dorcas began but as his fell, she reluctantly put it on, the floppy ball dangling from the tip of it.

"Mine's next." Zaya pushed hers towards her. "Well, it's technically also Mary's."

Dorcas unwrapped it, to reveal a small sewing machine, rather light-weight, with butterflies on the edges. "It's beautiful."

"You can do the whole Sirius project, with it, if you want," Mary suggested.

"I kinda gave up on that, but thanks. Maybe I'll make a scarf." Dorcas suggested, pushing it aside.

Darryl's came next, it being rather a small package. She hurriedly opened it, a small notebook, with a bunch of newspaper ripped pages on the cover.

"Made it myself," Darryl stated proudly.

"I couldn't tell," Dorcas remarked sarcastically.

"A simple thank you would've been enough."

"Fine, thank you." Dorcas rolled her eyes, moving onto Mary's package. She unwrapped it, three books standing in front of her.

"The Lord of the Rings trilogy. You'll love it." Mary nodded.

"If you say so, they're beautiful, thank you." Dorcas smiled in her direction.

Zaya's head was now leaning on Jacob's shoulder, almost falling asleep. 

"You guys better get going." Mary rushed them out of the room, Darryl following right behind them.

The two girls got into their separate beds, as the moon shone at the highest point in the sky. Dorcas still couldn't believe the fact that she was thirteen, be it because the wizarding world had made it seem as if you couldn't last past twelve, or because it just seemed an unlucky number.

"Mary," Dorcas whispered.

"Yes, Dorcy?" Mary turned around to face her.

"Thirteen is a weird age." 

"Agreed." Mary shut her eyes.

"Mary," Drcas called again.

"Yes, Dorcy?" Mary opened her eyes once more.

"I'm scared." She confessed.

"Again?" Mary trudged out of bed, jumping next to Dorcas, on her bed. "Nothing can happen to your parents."

"Promise?" 

"Of course."

The two girls went to bed, the letter still sitting on the table, unbeknownst to both of them.

_Dear Dorcas,_

_Don't trust anyone. Tutman has proven to have been in allegiance with Voldemort._

_Go to Diagon Alley on the 12th, to get your books and meet Ms Shafiq._

_She's residing at the Rosa Lee Teabag Shop, with her sister._

_Bring her this letter._

_Dark times approach._

_From your father._

_P.S Stay safe._


	37. Summer 1973: Part Two (Diagon Alley)

Diagon Alley was bustling with wizards and witches, both elderly and young, getting their books or just minding their business. Bars, inns, wandmakers and so many other shops were sprawled all around. Dorcas hadn't ever been here before, as her father had always bought her books and robes beforehand. Now, she was supposed to find a "Ms Shafiq" for some apparent reason. The worst birthday gift you can give to a kid is the threat of death, but maybe her parents just grew up in different times, when it was normal.

"Bloody hell, if our like wasn't being threatened, I think I could actually enjoy this place," Mary commented.

"Me too. Me too." Dorcas sighed, "What do we even need to do? Just be like _Oh hey, you know we might need some help here._ "

"Let's just get our stuff, then head in her way and be done with this," Mary said firmly, as they entered Flourish and Blotts, the bookshop.

The bookshop keeper was dealing with other customers as they began looking for their books. Dorcas immediately recognized Benjy and his family just browsing on the top floor. There were thousands of books, perhaps a million. Mary had gone down straight to business, examining every shelf which could hold one of those books. Dorcas immediately spotted _One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi_ and immediately grabbed two copies. Mary had found their Ancient Runes book as well as her Divination book. The main books for the rest of the curriculum were all stacked up nicely on another ledge. As for Arithmancy, Dorcas rushed upstairs, where people had to crawl, as the roof was so low. She bent down on the last shelf, grabbing _Numerology and Grammatica_. 

"Nice seeing you here, Meadowes." Marlene's familiar voice rang out, making Dorcas stand up, accidentally hitting her head on the wooden roof.

"Hi." She squirmed, as the throbbing pain kicked in.

"You're taking Arithmancy as well." Marlene nodded towards the book.

"Oh, yes." Dorcas nodded as she stood up fully, facing Marlene.

The girl had grown a bit, with her blonde locks, now reaching her waist, the only thing keeping them from hitting her face was a navy-coloured headband. Her blue eyes had darkened slightly, appearing a cyan colour. Her freckles had also faded slightly but still shone brightly against her fair skin. She had gotten slightly taller, as she was now fully taller than Dorcas, apparently a good thing, as a Beater certainly needed strength. 

"You look quite nice." Marlene complimented.

"You do too." Dorcas smiled, feeling her heart flutter slightly.

"Marlene, come on." An elderly woman called from downstairs, looking like an older version of Marlene.

"Coming, grandma!" Marlene shouted back. "I'll see you at school." The girl nodded as she passed Dorcas, heading back downstairs, towards her grandma.

Dorcas quickly followed her, getting in line with Mary, who was examining her Care of Magical Creatures book. She lifted it, looking at the cover. filled with both monsters and magical creatures.

"Y'know, I'm starting to regret taking Care of Magical Creatures. This doesn't seem all too easy. Listen to this: _Be very careful when handling one of these creatures, as the result maybe death_. Are they joking?" Mary read the blurb. "Please tell me they're joking."

"Knowing Hogwarts, they're probably not." Dorcas chuckled slightly, looking over her own copy, as it was now their turn to pay for their stuff.

The total was rather a lot, being 40 galleons, 70 Sickles and 43 Knuts. Thankfully, they had been given 60 galleons for all their books, as the Macdonald's had converted British money into wizarding money the days before. Dorcas had no idea where you could go for that to be done, maybe just a magical bank in the middle of nowhere or something. The two girls paid off their debt and rushed out of the shop.

They passed into a few alleyways, turning left, trying to find the teashop. There were many broken-down houses, with people in blankets begging for food or anything really. Dorcas wanted to help, but they needed to get to the teashop, fast. As they took a few more turns down the cobblestone trails, they finally reached the _Rosa Lee Teabag_ shop. The small bell above the doorframe rang as the girls went inside.

It was extremely empty compared with Flourish and Blotts, with only the actual keeper rubbing down the counter with a torn cloth. Apart from that, the teashop looked rather neat, with pretty lights and red and yellow tapestries hung onto the wall, mirroring the Gryffindor ones.

"Morning girls, could I help you?" The woman at the counter stopped cleaning, looking at them. She was wearing a lovely sewn apron and a blouse. Her indigo hijab hung tightly, really accentuating her smile and dimples.

"We're looking for a Ms Shafiq?" Dorcas stepped up.

"Well that's me, I'm Maryam, pleased to meet you." Maryam came from behind the counter looking at the girls. "What is it you want? You're not from the _Daily Prophet_ , right?" She looked rather worried.

"No, not of course." Mary shook her head, as she showed the girl the letter. "Dorcas got this from her father a couple of days ago."

"Ah, you wish to see my sister. ZAYNAB!" Maryam called upstairs. Another woman came downstairs, looking just like her sister, rather older, and with a different hijab, maroon this time. 

"I presume you're Miss Meadowes," Zaynab spoke in a soft voice, her worry lines showing on her forehead. "Come on upstairs, we don't want the prying eyes now, I suppose. We have a lot to speak about." She eyed Mary closely, "Your friend can stay here, with my sister."

"The name's Mary. Mary Macdonald." Mary stepped up.

"Oh, Miss Macdonald, of course. C'mon then, Dorcas." Zaynab made the girl follow her up the stairs and gathered them in a petite room, with pink decorated walls, seemingly like a living room.

"Would you like something, any specific type of tea?" She offered.

"No, no."Dorcas pushed the letter onto the table. "I want to know about this."

"Of course, just as persistent as your father, I presume." Zaynab chuckled slightly. "Have you ever head of Grindelwald, dear?"

"No." Dorcas breathed, rather confused.

"He was a terror among the wizarding community, in the 40s more specifically. Wanted the world to be _pure_. Everything to him was for the greater good."

"You speak as if you know him." Dorcas gulped.

"Oh, I knew old Gellert. I knew him just as well as Albus did. Well not as much, but you get the gist of it. To cut to the chase, Voldemort is like Grindelwald, even worse." Zaynab muttered. 

"He wants to get rid of muggles and muggle-borns, right?" 

"Yes, but it's just that and even worse. He believes that purebloods, like me, are superior to everyone else. He wants to eradicate the world of the unworthy." 

"That's dreadful."

"Yes, yes it is." Zaynab sighed. "But this is where your father comes in. Aurors, special guards, fight people like him every day. But Voldemort's smart. He has already managed to infiltrate Hogwarts once, as your father told you."

"Professor Tutman, right? I knew something was off about him." Dorcas said. "He spoke about werewolves too much, and even didn't try to scold Rosier and such."

"You have Rosier's kid in your class. Bloody hell. I knew his great-aunt, Vinda, or something like that. Listen, Dorcas, considering that Hogwarts has been infiltrated, you need to be careful. We have information that someone was working with Tutman. Anyone, you're suspicious of, you report them back to me."

"And how could I do that? You're here aren't you."

"You do need a new DADA teacher, don't you? Now I may not be in my prime, but I did learn a thing or two in my time as Auror, perhaps even more than Tutman." 

"But who could be infiltrating? A student surely wouldn't be capable of that."

"But a professor would. Anyone you find off?" 

"Well, Professor Binns, but he's fine now. I am taking new classes so maybe they're there?"

"Of course."

"But, can I ask something?" 

"Go right ahead." Zaynab lent back on her chair.

"Why would they want to get into _Hogwarts_? It's not the best place ever." Dorcas pointed out.

"Voldemort has his plans. I suppose you've seen something, I presume. Having to do with a certain Sword of Gryffindor?"

"W-Wait how?" Dorcas blinked multiple times, feeling rather odd.

"Let's just say, I've been trained in this kind of stuff."

"Yes, Bellatrix wanted something to do with a sword."

"Peculiar, truly, but there ya go. That's something Voldemort might have an interest in. It is one of the founders' special treasures, so fair enough. Don't try to question the bad guys' thinking, for it might give you a headache." Zaynab chuckled slightly. 

"One last thing." Dorcas stopped. "Are my parents safe?"

"I'm gonna keep it real with you, Dorcas, cause you're a very smart girl. In times of war, no one's safe. And if Voldemort continues with these attacks, we should expect a war." Zaynab pointed out. "However, your father is a very powerful wizard, so I'm sure he'll manage. As for your mother, she's the smartest muggle woman I've ever met. They're both as resourceful as you'd expect."

"That's...reassuring?" Dorcas gulped, resulting in a chuckle from Zaynab.

"They'll be just fine." Zaynab nodded, giving a slight sense of hope to Dorcas.


	38. Third Year: Changes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW: Mention of child abuse  
> (Song mentioned at the beginning: Home Again-by Carole King)

_Sometimes I wonder if I'm_

_Ever gonna make it home again._

_It's so far and out of sight._

_I really need someone to talk to_

_And nobody else_

_Knows how to comfort me tonight._

Thirteen didn't seem like a big change to Dorcas, but everyone else was different. The boys had grown a lot, especially Remus, being almost an inch and a half taller than everyone. Sirius' hair had grown out of the childhood face even more than everyone else. James and Peter still held that playful look, which felt Dorcas feel right at home. Lily's hair had gone slightly darker, yet still keeping the ginger look. Alice had changed the most though, her short hair now cut even shorter, getting rid of the bangs. Her soft smile had been replaced by a hard stare. Something was most definitely wrong.

"Aly." Dorcas nudged her, as they sat in the Dining Hall, through the sorting of new First-Years. "Are you alright?"

"No," Alice admitted. "Summer was hell."

"What happened?"

"Apart from Aunt raging after I cut my hair?"

"You cut your own hair?" Dorcas' eyes widened.

"Of course, how else could I have cut it this short?" Alice shrugged. "Say what you want, but spending the whole Summer with raging guardians, wasn't as fun as you'd think."

"Is that why-" Dorcas pointed at her chin, where a purple bruise lay.

"Yeap. Don't talk about it though, I still have to go back at Christmas, and if Warner tattles, Merlin I'm dead. He's been a real brute as well, trust me." Alice scoffed as the last person got to put the Hat on their head. 

"Bloody hell, Alice. You do realize that it's not normal, though. Right?"

"I know...But it's not like I do much about it, can I now? Mother and Father aren't coming back home." She dropped that last sentence as a bomb, but before Dorcas could even bother to say something, Dumbledore stood up.

"Evening students. Ah, yet another year has begun, and after the misfortunes of last year, I'm hopeful to say this year will be better. Of course, we have two new professors: Professor Juneberry, teaching Ancient Runes." A smiling woman took a small bow, clearly excited to teach. "And for our Defence Against the Dark Arts professor, we have Professor Shafiq, an expert in this field."

Ms Shafiq stood up, taking a bow, looking directly at Dorcas. "Thank you, Headmaster."

"May the feast, begin! And good luck to all for this year." Dumbledore lit up all the candles, rushing down each House table.

The food quickly appeared as it did every year. Dorcas began digging in, along with the others.

"What did you say you were taking again, Moony?" Sirius looked up from his food, as he was eating furiously.

"Arithmancy, Ancient Runes and Care of Magical Creatures," Remus said, calmly.

Dorcas' eyes widened as she struggled to not choke on her food. Why did she have to have classes with him? At least she was free during Care of Magical Creatures.

"Oh, you're doing almost the same thing as me." Lily pointed out.

"That's great." Remus nodded oddly. "Almost?"

"Yea, I couldn't really be bothered with Care of Magical Creatures." Lily shrugged. "So I'm taking Divination instead."

James' eyes lit up instantly.

"What'd you pick, Dorcy?" Sirius called, making Dorcas abruptly stop eating.

"It's-nevermind-Uh I got Arithmancy, Ancient Runes and Care of Magical Creatures." Now it was Remus' turn for his eyes to widen.

"You guys really going all out on your choices," Sirius remarked. "I just got Divination, Ancient Runes and Muggle Studies, for the fun of it."

"You'll be with Alice in Muggle Studies," Mary said. "You know, I think I'm starting to see a pattern in Gryffindors from pureblood families. Help me out a little here, Dorcy."

"Oh my god, stop." Alice smacked Mary, from across the table.

"Jamie, what'd you get?" Peter looked over at James. 

"I-I-" James adjusted his glasses slightly. "For me, it's Muggle Studies, Ancient Runes and Divination. Almost like Dorcy."

"It's-nevermind." Dorcas sighed.

"Finally someone who isn't taking Arithmancy. And since when is everyone taking it?" Sirius exclaimed.

"I'm not." Peter piped up once more. "I'm taking Divination, Care of Magical Creatures and Ancient Runes."

"Really would've thought that you guys would've stuck together," Mary said.

"Same could go for you girls." Sirius resumed munching on his food.

Dorcas' eyes caught movement at the Slytherin table. Among the new students, were the old, like Rosier, Snape, Mulciber and Goyle. Narcissa looked slightly older compared to last year, her childish grin disappearing behind the facade of white makeup and blush. Malfoy was holding her hand, under the table. And Andromeda was nowhere to be seen, as expected. Had the marriage gone through? Dorcas tried to wrap her mind around this, praying she had taken her advice, though seemingly unlikely. Another person caught her eye: Celia. She'd grown up slightly as well, the eyeliner shadowing her eye. Celia smiled slightly, as she saw Dorcas, but not daring wave or anything like that.

"The Bohemiés have gotten in trouble with the Ministry," Alice whispered. "Heard Aunt talk about it a few nights ago. Blew their cover or something like that."

"Blew their cover? For what?"

"Boh. Don't question it, though, you probably don't want to know." 

*****

Their dorm room hadn't changed at all, still welcoming all four girls back from their Summer. Dorcas threw herself on top of her bed, right beside the colourful window. Lily began quickly brushing her hair, letting it loose from the ribbons. Alice sprawled across her own bed, closing her eyes.

"Just one day in and someone already got my brush." Mary jumped out of the bathroom, wearing her pyjamas.

"Two seconds, just give me two seconds." Lily held up her hand, as she continued to untangle her ginger head.

"Ginger, I swear-"

"Don't call me ginger!" Lily snapped back.

"If you don't give me back my stuff, I will." Mary reached for the brush, but Lily swatted her away.

"Five more seconds."

"Fine. Dorcas, can have your brush?"

"Yes." She sighed, as she grabbed hers out of the trunk, throwing it towards Mary.

"Thank you."

"Lily, don't you have your own brush?" Dorcas sat back up.

"Tuney took it."

"Tuney?"

"My sister, Petunia." Lily gulped.

"And you couldn't ask for it back?"

"I did, but she didn't want to give it back." 

Dorcas eyed her, really confused. 

"Ok look, " Lily turned around, facing Dorcas, "If Tuney wants something, you give it to her. Especially if she has leverage."

"Isn't she a muggle? It sounds as if you've got the leverage with the bibbity bobbity boo and stuff." Dorcas pretended to wave her wand around.

"I don't want to make her upset," Lily admitted. "And plus, we're going to Hogsmeade this year, I can surely find a new brush there. Not a huge deal."

"If you say so." Dorcas laid back down on her back.

Having a sister didn't sound all too great. Her mind jumped to Andromeda and her advice. The advice she couldn't take. Dorcas knew that she had to ask Sirius about it, and hopefully she had managed to escape. As great as home was, the real world kept coming back to haunt her.


	39. Third Year: The Magic Numbers

The first week of school had been quite hard, compared to previous years. Potions, for sure was a bore, as if Slughorn had begun challenging himself to make them fall asleep. All except Lily, of course, who always, always raising her hand, no matter if it was a question or not. McGonagall, binns and Flitwick were stricter than ever, except their subjects had begun to all be rather enjoyable. They had Defence Against the Dark Arts on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, rounding up to a good three hours of Professor Shafiq teaching them all about defensive spells, while simultaneously shouting at the Slytherins. it was obviously the most enjoyable lesson.

Arithmancy was the last thing on Dorcas' timetable, ending off the week heavily. Both she and Lily walked along the halls, trying to reach the seventh floor, but always taking a wrong turn. Eventually, after about ten minutes, they arrived at Classroom 7A. The classroom was loaded with kids, yet no teacher to be seen. Dorcas followed Lily inside, to where Marlene and Emmeline were sitting, talking rapidly.

"Lils!" Marlene smiled, as she welcomed her friend, beckoning her on the seat.

"Marley. Oh, yea, and Dorcas' is also taking this with us." Lily pointed towards Dorcas, who stood there, awkwardly.

"Sit on down then." Emmeline tapped on the chair next to her.

"Thanks." Dorcas took her seat, just as the Professor came in.

"Morning class." A young man, clearly in his mid-30s, with a rather thick, grizzly beard entered the room, holding his own copy of the two books, smacking them face down onto the desk. "I'm Professor Dearborn if you wish to address me, properly. Arithmancy is difficult, so if you don't think you can handle that, the door's always there. Now, hopefully, you've all done some sort of reading, so can anyone tell me what Arithmancy is?"

Lily's hand shot straight up, but that was about it. Dorcas gulped as she had not read anything, yet. 

"Miss Vance." The professor pointed at the petite girl. "Your father was quite the arithmancer."

"I-I wouldn't happen to know."

"We're off to a great start, folks. I don't require much from you, just diligence and hard-work." He got up, crossing his arms, looking over to a Gryffindor boy. "Your name?"

"Remus. Remus Lupin."

"Yes, Mr Lupin?"

"Perhaps something that has to do with maths?"

"Not wrong. But not right either." He finally sighed, looking over at Lily. "Say your name and go for it."

"Lily Evans. Arithmancy is a type of divination, having its roots based on mathematics. It relies on precise measurements, unlike other types of Divination. The word "Arithmancy", comes from the Greek _arithmos_ , meaning number, and _manteia_ , meaning divination. The most common form of Arithmancy is numerology." Lily explained thoroughly.

"Perfectly well explained, however, I'd like to add that it has been used by many ancient civilizations to help them determine the most opportune date for an event or to predict the outcome of something. It is also used to analyze one's strengths and weaknesses, overcome obstacles and even predict the future, like Divination." Professor Dearborn scribbled onto the board. "So how does it work? Well, you basically reduce numbers to get you to one number. The resulting number will have one specific meaning."

"Oh so can it be used for like birthdays and stuff?" Marlene piped up.

"Yes, Miss...?"

"McKinnon. Marlene McKinnon." The girl stated proudly.

"Yes. I was getting to that-"

"So we're just playing with magic numbers?" Emmeline spoke up this time.

"Yes, well not really, as I was saying-"

"So this is just Divination with extra steps?" Lily said.

"New rule, everyone. You let me finish my sentences. Now, as I was saying, Arithmancy is truly fascinating, but you have to be very, very precise. Now, we're going to take someone's birthday as an example. Perhaps someone from the girls' corner, since you're so chatty?" He looked over at Dorcas. "Your name is again?"

"Dorcas. Dorcas Meadowes."

"Ah, a Meadowes, taking Arithmancy? Surprising." Sniggering sounded through the room. "Your father wasn't quite a fan of numbers."

"Maybe he just didn't see it as useful." Dorcas shrugged. "Plus becoming an Auror doesn't quite reacquire playing with magic numbers, does it, Professor?"

"Your birthday?" The professor persisted. "And the year."

"August 3rd, 1960." 

The professor wrote it onto the board, clearing his throat. "What we do, simply speaking, is add the 3 with the 8, which comes from the month, and 1, 9, 6, 0 individually. Then continue to add the digits of the number, resulting in a single one. Miss Meadowes, what would that give us?"

Dorcas gulped slightly. "8."

"Correct. This is your vibrational number. Your vibrational number represents some of your most fundamental qualities and attributes. Now, to use this example, we can tell a bit about the individual. Seeing as 8 is ruled by Uranus, which is the planet of Success, Opportunity and Strength, we can assume quite a few things about the individual, such as, in this case, the fact that they can be power-driven, ambitious, jealous, practical and domineering." He stopped. "Just like your father."

"Good to know." Dorcas scoffed. 

"Now, I'd like for everyone to do the same thing, you may also search up the number in your book for more information. Miss Meadowes, since we already have analyzed it, you may begin writing an essay, as extra points. It should be about Xeele Deqart, the witch who discovered the properties of number 8, who also was this number. Seeing as it's your number, you should do this with ease."

Dorcas opened the book rapidly, scrolling through, finally finding Deqart. What the professor had forgotten to mention, was that he was also a criminal, with pureblood thinking. _Bloody brilliant_ , Dorcas thought, _not only does this man hate my father, but he also thinks I'm a blood supremacist_.

"He hates your guts." Marlene leaned in to whisper.

"Thanks, I really hadn't noticed." Dorcas sighed, getting out a piece of parchment beginning to write.

*****

Arithmancy has surely gone terribly, but now Dorcas was actually looking forward to a break, right after school, in the common room. Mary was writing her Divination paper, sighing terribly often. Clearly, the subjects they had chosen weren't going as well as they'd have thought. Suddenly, Sirius jumped through the portrait tunnel, rushing over to Dorcas, grasping a small letter with a few stamps on it.

"Whoa, worried much?" Dorcas put her book down, looking up at the boy.

"Can you come outside a bit? It's very important." He gasped for breath.

"Sure, sure." Dorcas placed her book down, following the boy outside the tunnel, and into the empty hallway. "What's the matter? Is it about the scarf, because I'm not finished yet-"

"No, no. It's Andi, my cousin." 

"I know her, we talked a bit..." Dorcas looked down, remembering the conversation before the holidays.

"Listen, over the Summer, she kinda just left, vanished out of nowhere before the wedding." Sirius held the letter tightly. "I got correspondence from a specific address and she said she would send me a letter if she ever got away." He held out the letter, with the address: _Bent House Lane, Old Durham,_ written boldly on it _._

"She-she got away. Yes." Dorcas sighed, full of relief. "That's what she meant by this address. It wasn't for her and Rabastan, it was for her and Ted!"

"Ted? You don't mean Ted Tonks?"

"Yes. Yes, I do. Well, did you open the letter?"

"No, it said to read it with you." Sirius opened the letter showing it to Dorcas.

_Dear Dorcas and Sirius,_

_Well, number one, I'm sure you two are glad that the wedding didn't go through, and so am I. Number two: I really hope both of you are doing okay, with the Muggle attacks and everything. I'm with Ted, but there's more, of course, there is, this is the blasted Noble House of Black, we're talking about. Before I left, I overheard something. Sirius, they're scared that you're dishonouring the family, just like I did and it's likely they'll force you into a marriage as well. I'm sorry, I didn't want this to happen, but now it's certain that it will, with me leaving and all that. Whatever you do, don't go back for Christmas. Once they propose the idea, they'll never let go of it. Just look at me with Rabastan. Merlin, I wish I could help, but this house we found is really torn down, and it'll take a bit before we get it to be good enough. Currently, the bedroom isn't even big enough for three of us, let alone four. Right, I forgot to mention, I may be expecting, so that just males this ten times worse. Listen, just don't go back home, this Christmas. As for the Summer, hopefully, I'll get this renovated before then, but for now, tread lightly._

_Bien à vous,_

_Andi_

"Holy-"

"Shit."

"Sirius." Dorcas swatted him.

"Sorry, but jeez. This is a lot." He admitted.

"Do you really think your parents would do that?"

"Why wouldn't they? It'll probably some distant cousin I've never thought of or met before. So what do I do for Christmas, then? I need a place to stay."

"I would invite you over, but it's not like I have a stable place, either. How about you go to James'? No? Or...or stay here."

"At Hogwarts? Not like I haven't before, sure. Though I'll be alone after all James, Peter and Remus are all going back home."

"Would you rather be alone, or get married?" Dorcas scoffed.

"Fine, fine, you're right."

"Plus, I'm staying here, so you won't be completely alone and I'm great company. Telling from experience." Now it was Sirius' turn to swat her slightly.

"You know Dorcas, you're alright, for a girl."

"Thank you?" She eyed him slightly.

"I mean-thanks. Thank you." He smiled.

"Always." Dorcas returned the smile.


	40. Third Year: Grudges

"Rock, paper, Scissors for who gets the last Jelly Slug." Mary turned on her chair, facing Dorcas.

Alice had bought around three packets of them with her, from the Summer. As she didn't like them, she had given them to Mary and Dorcas. What she hadn't expected probably, was that the two girls would begin fighting over them. They had eaten them in less than a week, and only one red Jelly Slug was left. They had carried the fight to Defence Against the Dark Arts class, but luckily with the Hogsmeade trip coming up, they could get some more. But for now, they had to settle the war.

"Fine." Dorcas nodded. Rock, Paper, Scissors, Shoot!" Dorcas landed on scissors and Mary with paper. "Ha! I win."

"Uh, fine." Mary handed her the bag, and Dorcas graciously took her prize and popped it into her mouth. 

"No eating in the classroom, ladies." Professor Shafiq entered, holding her wand in one hand, and skimming through their book with the other. "Settle down and take your seats, class. Where's Mr Lupin, again?"

"He's in the...infirmary, Professor." Sirius nodded. "He'll be coming in a few minutes."

"Right, then. That kid's always getting hurt, huh? Well, today we'll be doing some pairwork. Exciting." Professor Shafiq took her seat. "Now, I'd like for you all to clear up the tables, put them in the back, so we have someplace to move around." The students immediately got up and did just this. "Now, as for the pairs, I'll be deciding them. Snape go with...Potter."

The whole class fell silent. Was the Professor really gonna start a war, or did she just not know that they hated one another?

"Go on then, you two. Go to the back and wait for instructions and try not to kill one another." So she did know. Both James and Snape treaded to the back, staying as far apart from one another as they could.

"Mulciber, Macdonald and Black." She pointed towards the three. Mary eyed Dorcas before following Sirius and Mulciber to the back of the class.

"And Goyle with Pettigrew."

The other third pair went to the back, begrudgingly.

"Evans with Fortescue, to have at least one pair that won't kill each other. Attar with Fenwick also works splendidly. As for Rosier, you may go with Meadowes."

Dorcas blinked a couple of times. She had told the professor how she despised the guy, whatever was she playing at? Trying to get them all killed, no doubt.

"But-" Rosier spoke up.

"No, buts, Mr Rosier. I'm sure you two can figure it out." Dorcas went next to Mary, as the two girls sighed desperately.

A few more pairs were made, before the Professor nodded, clearly proud of the pairs. "Now, you'll be duelling a little. I want to see your capabilities before I can teach you more. Nothing much, just a few hits and defensive spells, after all, you are Third-years. Oh, and special warning to Mr Snape, your dangerous spells won't be taken so lightly here." Snape snarled at this but didn't dare speak back.

Remus finally entered the room, making everyone turn around to him. 

"Ah, Mr Lupin, so amazing that you were able to grace us with your presence. Now, you'll be going with..." Shafiq looked around, finally landing on Rosier. "With Miss Meadowes and Mr Rosier. We've already discussed the rules, you'll just be duelling simply. No extravagant spells, I want to see you're knowledge and how you perform this." She turned back around to the class, "For the groups with three, you may take turns fighting one another as this is One-on-One."

The groups dispersed accordingly, despite the complaints of a lot of people. Remus walked over to where Dorcas was standing, by herself, since she certainly didn't want to be the one to approach Rosier about this.

"This is great."

"Yeah." Dorcas sighed.

"Listen, about last year-"

"What exactly part are you talking about? The one where you called my hobbies "girly and stupid" or another part I don't remember?"

"Dorcy, about that-"

"It's a Dorcas. And let's just get this over with, right? You don't want to be near me and I don't either." Dorcas nodded, as Rosier approached them.

"I'm not fighting two filthy little mudbloods."

"I'm not content about it, either." Dorcas scoffed, getting out her wand. "You get first to hit, Rosier. Lupin can go after."

"You're underestimating me." Rosier spat. 

"Yeah right, just go, I don't. have time for this." Dorcas got in position.

"Alright, then. _Vermidillious_." Rosier pointed at her, the green sparks flying.

Dorcas moved out of the way, ducking, before stating: _Immobulus_." Rosier froze into place, falling on his back, resulting in a few sniggers from the back.

"Make it last longer than that, Miss Meadowes." Professor Shafiq eyed her.

"Alright." Dorcas moved back, as Remus stepped up, rather stone-faced.

Dorcas liberated the Slytherin boy from the spell, and the two boys began duelling. Green and red sparks shot, Rosier swearing quite a lot. It was clear that he was all talk and no action.

" _Stupefy_." Remus pointed again, making Rosier stagger backwards. 

" _Mansio_." Rosier pointed at Remus, making him trip, but didn't hesitate after that and immediately said. " _Expelliarmus_." 

Remus' wand flew out of his hand, and into Rosier's.

"What'd you think about that?"

"Congrats on getting a hit. Once." Dorcas stood back up. "Now you have to sit down."

Rosier threw Remus' wand back at the boy.

"Dorcas, if you'd just listen-"

"Don't listen, attack." Dorcas scoffed, pointing at him. "Start."

"Merlin, just listen-"

" _Expelliarmus_." Dorcas shot at him, getting his wand into her hand. "Alright, fine. I'm listening."

"Look, I'm sorry-"

"Is it my turn now, move mudblood." Rosier eyed Remus.

"SHUT UP!" Remus shouted back.

"Alright." Professor Shafiq stood up. "Seeing as things are getting heated up, you may stop and return to your seats, after placing back your desks, of course. I've got enough information to determine what level you're on."

Dorcas looked around the room, to realize they weren't the only tense group. James and Snape were clearly badly bruised and cut, for some reason. Mary had a huge gash on her face, while Sirius' whole sleeve was cut off. No doubt, Mulciber's doing. Alice and Lily were among the only groups actually looking alright. The students moved back the tables and seats, respectively, and sat back down.

"Now I realize why I was advised against putting certain groups together. Specifically talking about you, Mr Potter and you, Mr Snape. As for Miss Macdonald and Mr Black, I suggest you two go to the nurse's office to fix you up. Mr Mulciber, I do think I strictly said no extravagant spells." Both Mary and Sirius limped out of the room, and the professor proceeded. "To become great witches and wizards, you need to be able to work together, even with people you disagree with, against a common enemy, which is why I'm going to change some of the seating arrangements. The Slytherins and the Gryffindors are already very divided through history, so this should be a challenge, but I hope you'll be putting your petty difference aside, before getting at it again. Of course, clearly, Mr Snape and Mr Potter can't be put together, or else chaos will erupt, however, it wouldn't hurt for, say Mr Mulciber and Mr Potter to be seated together. With your seat partner, you'll be doing more group work, for this whole year." Professor Shafiq nodded. As much as Dorcas hated to admit, she thought it'd be good practice for sure, and the professor was right.

"Now, Miss Bohemié, you did rather well in the little practice, so I'll be putting you with Miss Meadowes. You've both got similar reflexes and so it surely wouldn't hurt." Celia looked over at Dorcas nodding. "You two may take the middle to the back." The two girls stood up, sitting next to each other.

Celia seemed nice enough and was clearly a better option than anyone else.

"In front of them, will be Mr Rosier and Mr Lupin." Dorcas hit her head on the table. Great, the two people she hated the most right now, sitting right in front of her.

Remus took a seat in front of Dorcas, and Rosier in front of Celia. 

"In front of them will be Miss Macdonald and Mr Black, once they return. In front of them, Miss Evans and Miss Fortescue may stay. Mr Mulciber and Mr Potter, try not to kill one another, you may sit next to the wall." James nodded, as he sat on Dorcas' side, while Mulciber sat next to the wall grumbling.

"Mr Goyle and Mr Snape, you may stay in those places. These seem like good placements, so I'll leave it like this." Professor Shafiq nodded. "And since we have ten minutes left of class, you may write a little essay, only one or two paragraphs about Boggarts, as we'll start working with them next week. Obviously, you may consult your partner about it, but the book has all the information you need. Get to work, now."

"This'll be fun." Celia looked at Dorcas.

"No, no it won't." Rosier scoffed.

"Oh, be a team player, Evan." Celia rolled her eyes.

"When you're in a team with a loser, you can't really do that, Cels," Rosier growled.

"You're friends?" Dorcas eyed the girl.

"Family friends." Celia tightened her jaw, as she began writing.

"Right..."

"Dorcas-" Remus turned around, "Look, I'm sorry."

"Good to know." Dorcas continued looking at her paper.

"C'mon-" He breathed.

"Lupin, if you're done talking with your girlfriend, I'd like my book back." Rosier held his hand out.

"Not my girlfriend." "Not his girlfriend." Both Remus and Dorcas said at the same time.


	41. Third Year: The Shrieking Shack

Everyone had been looking forward to the Hogsmeade trip, with James and Sirius ranting about it endlessly in the common room. Dorcas had noted to get some earplugs to at least have some quiet time. Mary was looking forward to buying Jelly Slugs along with more wizarding treats. Lily had left in advance, as she desperately wanted to taste some Butterbeer with Marlene and Emmeline. Alice had been rather quiet about it all, even telling the two girls that she couldn't go with them as she had promised someone else. Who she had promised though, was still a mystery. 

"C'mon, Aly, tell us." Mary pleaded as the girls were getting their coats.

"I can't. He suggested-"

"HE?" Mary squealed. "Ooh, Aly who is it?

"No one. Forget I said anything." Alice brushed it off.

"Is it, Francis? Or maybe Peter, you get along with Peter. Ooh, what about-"

"Cut it out. I'm not budging." Alice sighed as she turned to leave, smacking the door shut behind her.

"Our little Alice is all grown up." Mary pretended to wipe off her tears.

"Is that a good thing?" Dorcas hauled the bag over her shoulder.

"Dunno, though we can't worry about that now. We need to go raid Honeydukes' before the Fifth-Years get there." 

"Right. Focus on the mission. Also, earplugs."

"Course, but sweets are a top priority. Dad didn't give us all this money for us to not spend it." Mary opened the door, letting Dorcas past first as they left.

"I am wondering though, who is Alice with?" Dorcas whispered.

"Then that's our mission number two. Get sweets and find out who Alice is snogging with." Dorcas hit Mary slightly.

"She can't be snogging, we're only 13."

"Ha! You know there's rumours that Greengrass, you know the fourteen-year-old blonde Slytherin girl? Yea, there's rumours that she's dating a sixteen-year-old."

"Yea, but she's 14, not 13."

"Still. It's almost illegal, yet she's still doing it. As long as it's someone less than 16, Alice's fine."

"But couldn't it just be a friend?" Dorcas piped up as they began skipping down the cobblestone path.

Mary stopped, turning around. "Oh, please. If it was a friend, she wouldn't be making such a big deal of it."

"You're an expert on this, aren't you?" Dorcas scoffed, as Mary put her arm around her neck.

"I've learnt a few things from my older sister. Too many things, but some can come in handy. Y'know when you get a boyfriend, I'll help you." 

Hogsmeade was a sight to see. Small cottages were covered with golden leaves, from head to toe. The windows were glistening with colour and plenty of people were sitting in the pubs. There were a few houses as well, not too many though. A house was sitting up top, on a faraway hill, though a huge tree was blocking it from view. Dorcas furrowed her eyebrows, curious as to what could be there.

"What's that, Mary?"

"Oh, I think I've heard a few older students talk about it. They call it: The Shrieking Shack. Three years ago, it began howling and now there's probably ghosts there. I think I heard it once, but it wasn't too bad, just like the wind. It's just fairytales, don't worry about it." Mary waved her hand as if dismissing the idea. "Now, where is Honeydukes? There! Come on!"

The shop looked rather huge, with older students all bustling to get sweets. In a split of a second, Mary had left Dorcas' side. _Just brilliant,_ Dorcas thought. She walked through the shop looking over the racks, then she saw the Slytherins. Crap. There they were, Rosier, Snape, Mulciber and Goyle. She turned around just around too late.

"Lost, mudblood?"

"For the last time, I'm a half-blood not muggle-born." Dorcas turned around, seething. "Not that it's right to call someone that awful thing, either way."

"Same thing."

"You don't seem to treat your buddy Snape like that, despite him being a half-blood." Dorcas turned to him. "Ain't that right, Snivellous?"

Snape gripped his wand but didn't dare take it out, for magic outside Hogwarts wasn't allowed, not even in Hogsmeade.

"Don't call me that." 

"Whatever you say, Snivelly." Dorcas rolled her eyes, as she turned back around, hoping to find Mary.

Luckily, the girl was already checking out plenty of sweets, so it was easy to spot her, with her five bags. Dorcas rushed to her, not wanting to converse anymore with the Slytherins. The two girls checked out their stuff, hurrying out of the shop.

"Now, step number two, where could Alice be?"

"Somewhere no one else would be," Dorcas suggested.

"Of course. The Shrieking Shack." Mary nodded, making Dorcas stagger backwards.

"Alice wouldn't go _there_. Would she?"

"I mean possibly, she likes ghosts and stuff. Even friends with the Myrtle ghost, so she probably wouldn't mind."

"But to go there-?"

"Dorcy, it'll be fine don't worry."

"Fine. But if we get killed-"

"Yeah, blame it on me, haunt me, all that." Mary dragged Dorcas up the hill.

"Is this a really good idea, Mary?" Dorcas considered going back.

"Yes of course. I came up with it, didn't I?" The two girls finally reached the house, with the door slightly open. Not a good sign.

As Mary pushed it open, an empty room revealed itself. It had numerous scratches and even a cracked window. There was some furniture, but just like the rest of it, it was torn apart, by someone. The floorboards creaked as the girls entered. Dorcas traced the painting frame, which had horrifying scratches, clawing the portrait of the person. The girl was sitting on the bench, looking down at her palms, her golden locks rushing down her frail body. She resembled Marlene quite a lot. Suddenly, she moved her head slightly, making Dorcas stagger backwards, bumping into Mary.

"Bloody hell-" Mary's eyes widened as the girl in the picture sat up and left the portrait. "Did-did that just move?"

"Where could she have gone?" Dorcas gulped. "I mean, portraits move and that, but to neighbouring ones, not randomly."

"Ok, maybe you were right." Mary looked around, bracing herself, as she stood back up.

"Oh, of course, I was right." Dorcas stifled as she also stood up again, brushing herself off.

"What could've done all this?" Mary pointed at the scratches on the walls.

"Maybe there are ghosts here..." Dorcas sighed.

"There can't be. Can there?"

"I-I-Let's just get out of here before we actually find out."

"Good point, it's clear Alice isn't here." The two girls turned around on their heels, just as a voice rung from below them:

"Who's here?"

"Crap." The two girls immediately ran out, leaving the door wide open behind them, rushing down the hill. Dorcas almost broke her ankle, as they finally reached the bottom, thankfully not having been caught. With one last look behind them, Dorcas saw an elderly woman close the door shut. She was pale, resembling a ghost.

"That wasn't-"

"It couldn't have been." Dorcas shook her head.

They both walked over to the closest pub. The boys were also there, just laughing in the corner window. Mary directed towards the farthest table, inside. It was rather cosy, with a burning fireplace, and many booths. There were also quite a few free tables, but only one left at the very back. Older students were snogging in the corners, and Dorcas felt as if she was interrupting something.

"So we can't go there anymore, noted. No big deal." Mary shrugged, trying to make both of them feel better.

"Yeah. Mary, I'm never following you again." Dorcas leaned in her chair, kicking the table slightly.

"Yeah, I think I got that. Sorry." 

"Let's just both agree to not talk about it again," Dorcas said, diverting from the conversation. "Now, back to Alice, do you see her anywhere?"

"Nope, I do see the boys, though. I saw you were talking to Sirius, you know before like a few weeks ago." Mary began.

"Mary, no-"

"Maybe he fancies you." Mary giggled slightly, looking over at the boys. "Maybe you fancy him too."

"That's-that's not possible." Dorcas scoffed. Sirius was her friend, full stop. 

"Why not?" Mary suggested. "C'mon, not even a bit."

"No." Dorcas stomped her foot. "Don't be foolish."

"Alright, alright." Mary held her hands up, smiling slightly. Suddenly, she turned around, abruptly. "What's Lily doing with Snivellous?"

Dorcas looked over in that direction. Sure enough, the slimy git and Lily were both sitting at the table, talking.

"Please tell me that's not real. Since when are they, friends?"

"Well, Lily does live next to him, so I suppose she couldn't really evade him," Mary suggested.

"He's friends with **pureblood supremacists**. That makes him one by association and Lily's fine with that?"

"They're not laughing though." Mary whispered, "Look."

Snape held out his hand, and Lily shook it, clearly sighing. 

"They're making peace?"

"Lily's a bloody idiot." Dorcas rubbed her forehead. "That's like saying, _oh you hate me, alright I forgive you_."

"Maybe it's just a one-time thing, no? Giving him a second chance?"

"I hope Marlene knocks some sense into her,"

"Me too." Marlene agreed. 


	42. Third Year: Remy's Ideas

Dorcas still couldn't get over the fact of the whole peace treaty thing. The two girls had, later on, asked their friend about it, and they were right. That night the worst fight occurred in the girls' dorm, with only Alice trying to get everyone to calm down. Mary and Lily were mainly fighting, with Lily trying to defend Snape a little, saying that maybe he changed and wasn't hanging around as much with Mulciber and such. Mary had disagreed.

"ARE YOU BLOODY STUPID? WHAT HAS GOTTEN INTO YOU?" Mary shouted.

"Listen, I'm just trying to be rational-"

"Don't you understand? You can't be 50-50 in this situation. You're being ridiculous." Dorcas stood up for Mary.

"Not you too Dorcy..."

"C'mon, Lily. He calls me those awful slurs every day we meet." The room went silent, as Dorcas stomped her foot. "You think you're the exception, now? You're being ridiculous!"

"He apologised. He's been my friend all my life. You really expect me to just forget?"

"I'm not expecting you to do anything. I just thought, you know, maybe I'd gotten some sense into you! Why are you trying to see the good in him?"

"He's always been there for me, with Tuney-"

"Like the bloody cares, Lily. What do you expect to happen? For you to just _change_ him?" Mary interrupted.

"He never called me that..."

"But he called other people. He called me, Dorcy, hell even just random people. HE DOESN'T CARE!" Mary sighed. "When will you realize that?"

"You're wrong." Lily got her coat from the chair. "You, Marlene, Emmeline-You're all wrong. I'm gonna prove to you, that you're wrong. And I'm going to the Slug Club meeting, with Sev, now if you'd excuse me." She slammed the door shut, leading mary to exasperatedly sigh.

"Shit," Dorcas swore as she sat down on the nearest chair.

"He manipulated her." Alice got up. "I just know it."

"With a spell-?" Mary looked over, as she rubbed her, now red, eyes.

"No, no spell could've done this. She's been acting odd for a while. He must've told her something during the Summer." Alice suggested.

"Can we do anything?" Mary looked directly at Dorcas.

"You heard her. Even Marlene and Emmeline talked to her. There's no point. Let's just hope her brain cells start working again." 

"She hates us." Alice sighed.

"Nah she doesn't." Dorcas shook her head. "It's clear she can't hate people."

"Tell that to Potter, will you?" Mary giggled. "That boy tries too hard."

"I don't think she hates him either, just finds him a bit...Actually, I don't know why she hates him."

"Because Snape does." Alice filled it in.

"Right, it can all be traced back to Snivellous." Dorcas scoffed. "You know, I've got an idea."

"Do tell, Meadowes." Mary sat upright.

"Just the perfect prank for sluggish Snape, just to teach him a lesson that he needs to learn."

"Prank? Isn't that like the boys' thing?" Alice asked curiously.

"Not anymore," Dorcas smirked.

*****

Snape was nowhere to be seen for a full week. Everyone wondered what had happened, but only the girls knew. Snape was probably vomiting for a long time. According to even more rumours, he had also gotten a fever, which Dorcas liked to credit to her amazing wandwork. Was it mean to prank him unprovoked? Probably. But was it fun? Yes, one hundred per cent. The better part of it, they hadn't even been caught.

"It was you wasn't it?" Lily snapped as she sat down in front of Dorcas, during lunch.

"I don't know what you're talking about." She shrugged.

"Oh, you know bloody well. Sev was terribly sick, vomiting and having a fever, but luckily Madam Pomfrey has taken good care of him."

"Sounds like he just got a bug." Mary shrugged.

"That's not it." Lily now eyed both girls, as well as Alice. "He was vomiting _slugs_."

"Oh, poor, baby Snivellous. Now I get why the guys nicknamed him that."

"It's not funny. He could've gotten really sick."

"Listen, Evans," Dorcas put down her fork. "I could honestly care less about Snivellous and how sick he was. He just has to put on his big boy pants and deal with it."

"If you continue to harm him, I'll have to do something about it." Lily nodded.

"Go for it then." Mary dared. "Because we're not stopping."

"Fine then." Lily scoffed, turning around on her heels, her hair almost hitting them in the face, as she walked to the other end of the Gryffindor table.

"You guys really did all that?" James looked over at them, from a bit farther away down the table.

"Sure." Dorcas shrugged.

"All Dorcy's idea," Mary noted.

"Brilliant." Peter smiled.

"You're right, Pete." Sirius nodded. "Didn't know you would that. Though it's not amazing or anything. Pretty amateur stuff."

"I learned from someone." Dorcas looked over to where Remus was looking down at his plate. "Someone quite brilliant." Remus looked up, slightly.

"Me, obviously." James nodded.

"Your ego is bigger than your head, Potter." Dorcas shook her head, smiling.

*****

The library was pretty empty, by the time Dorcas was there. Mary was with Alice at the Quidditch practice, as Lily wasn't showing up clearly. She spotted Remus in a corner, huffing over their Arithmancy project. She had time to think, and he seemed like he truly was sorry. Sure, Lily had accepted Snape's apology as well, but that surely was different. Remus hadn't called her an actual slur and wasn't hanging around with pureblood supremacists.

"Arithmancy is a bore. Isn't it?" She sat down in front of him.

"Uh, yeah." He looked over at her, clenching his jaw. "Look, I-"

"Listen, I've had some time to think, and I accept your apology."

"Really?" His eyes widened.

"Sure. But if you do something like that again, I'm not."

"Thanks. Look, about Snape-"

"I hate him. I'm not going to apologize for something I don't regret. He's a scumbag."

"No, no, I agree. He's a piece of trash, but that's not it. I've got some notes."

"Notes?" Dorcas crossed her arms.

"I might've gone to the Infirmary when Snape was in bed and stuff and there were a few good things and some bad things you've done."

"Is Remus Lupin really grading me on a stupid prank?" 

"Shut up." He growled. "As I was saying, you made quite the powerful spell, clearly as it lasted quite a few days, but I also saw that he had a powerful immune response to it. Meaning, that if you want to make a prank that has more impact, you need to hit him where his immune system is rather weak but powerful at the same time. Got it?"

"No."

"Basically, aim for his lungs, throat, skin and stomach."

"Didn't I do just that?"

"Yes, but go bigger, not just against Snivellous, but a wider crowd. Go big or Go home." Remus suggested.

"Yeah, no. For me, it's Go Small or Go to Detention." Dorcas scoffed.

"Trust me. I'll help."

"Wouldn't you want to work with _the Marauders_?" 

"How-"

"I think that's what you guys called yourselves. I saw it on a piece of parchment."

"Right, well uh they already know this. We're working on much bigger pranks, our childhood years are over."

"You're so dramatic. " Dorcas shook her head. "And I'm not allowed to. know, right?"

"Correctomundo." Remus nodded.

"Alright then, Remy. What's your idea?" Dorcas leaned on the table.

"It's-nevermind. So pick your weapon, hornets or fire ants."

"I'm starting to regret this." Dorcas eyed him. "Hornets."

"Great."

"Where are you going to get hornets from?"

"There must be a spell for that somewhere."

"Remy, you're nuts."

"Don't complain, so are you, Dorcy." Remus shook his head as he got up to go searching for the spellbook.


	43. Third Year: Hornets

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Song mentioned at the beginning: We've Only Just Begun-By The Carpenters)

_Sharing horizons that are new to us_

_Watching the signs along the way_

_Talkin' it over, just the two of us_

_Workin' together day to day_

_Together_

_Together_

_And when the evening comes, we smile_

_So much of life ahead_

_We'll find a place where there's room to grow_

_And yes, we've just begun_

Remus had managed to conjure up a few hornets, though how he had done it, Dorcas had no idea. They had planned it rather flimsily, only deciding to release them inside the Slytherin common room. Hopefully, it was actually going to work, though the effects of it were going to be limited. Both of them entered the common room, greeted with the same old cold air. It was almost midnight, so all the students were fast asleep. Dorcas put the box down, opening it quickly, and rushing out with Remus, closing the iron door firmly behind them.

"How long until they start to realize?"

"I'd say five seconds." Remus gulped as the two of them rushed up the stairs, with the shouting just coming.

"This is way better than just pranking Snape."

"Told you, though they probably will hurt him a bit." The boy shrugged.

"Oh, he'll manage." Dorcas blew it off. "They aren't too much right?"

"Don't think so, only should sting slightly. But it does trigger an immune system response, and that's what you want."

"How did you figure this out?" Dorcas eyed him as they rushed up the moving stairs.

"Well, in Conwy, y'know, where I live, there there's this kid, Dylan, he's really good at this stuff. So he kinda told me about it, when we were smaller."

"Aw, you still keep in touch with him?"

"No," Remus said bluntly. "He doesn't like me much."

"Why's that? You're uptight and stubborn and all that, but you're alright."

"Thanks...?" Remus scoffed. "He's just very-nevermind."

"No, what is it?"

"I-I can't say really."

"Fine, fine. I'm not going to push you." Dorcas nodded. "Just a hint?"

"No, Cas." Remus sighed, a sort of sorrowness on his face.

"Alright." Dorcas nodded. "Wait, what did you just call me?"

"You're not the only one who can come up with nicknames."

"Cas? Really?"

"You call me Remy, I'll call you Cas."

"Fine, fine." Dorcas nodded, as they finally reached the portrait tunnel. Remus went through first, eager to get back to his dorm. "Cas, really?" Dorcas sighed, as she followed right behind him.

*****

The hall was completely silent at breakfast, with only a few Slytherins actually being present. Nobody was really questioning it, as most of the time, they did give people a headache. Mary, however, had noticed that Dorcas was up until past midnight.

"What'd you do?"

"Huh? Me? Nothing." 

"What was it? What was the prank?"

"All I'm gonna say is...Hornets." Dorcas smirked.

"You didn't-"Mary began, but got interrupted by Donna, who was standing right behind her.

"Meadowes," She nodded towards her. "McGonagall asked for you in her office."

"Why?"

"Boh." Donna shrugged as she rushed over to her friends.

"Damn it." Dorcas got up from her seat, leaving the Hall in a hurry.

She passed multiple halls, even the Infirmary. Dorcas peaked inside slightly, seeing a rather huge number of Slytherins with stings all over their faces and arms. This was not good. She rushed immediately to the office, and as she opened the creaky door once more, she saw Remus already sitting there and a very angry McGonagall facing her.

"Sit. Now."

"Yes, Professor." Dorcas hurriedly took her seat.

"I'm sure you've heard of the Hornet attack by now, correct?"

"Yes, Professor." Both of them nodded.

"Now, Mr Snape has informed us that you two could be the possible culprits. Is this true?" McGonagall shook her head.

"Nope." Remus shook his head.

"No? Really?" McGonagall opened her notebook, filled with parchment, and adjusted her glasses. "Let's see, you've done something like this before, with a certain Swelling Solution, I believe. Mr Lupin, you've also taken part in a vast Bat-Bogey Hex, as well as many other small pranks against numerous students, including Mr Snape, Mr Rosier, Mr Goyle Mr Mulciber, all from Slytherin and the list goes on and on. These are only the instances you've been caught. Now, you're both telling me you had no idea of who could've done it?"

"Uh-" Dorcas stuttered.

"Let's not get into the most recent prank on Mr Snape, which resulted in him vomiting slugs and having a terrible fever?"

"Oh, that wasn't Remus." 

"Then who was it Miss Meadowes?" McGonagall eyed her.

"Not Remus?" McGonagall sighed once more at this response.

"I've called on Mr Black, Mr Potter and Mr Pettigrew as well and-" Suddenly the door burst open, revealing the three boys, standing there.

"Oh, hiya Moony!" James waved. "And Dorcas."

"Step in, all of you." The three boys nodded, as they each took a seat and sat themselves down.

"Now, I could probably also call Miss Macdonald and Miss Fortescue, but they've only done this once, so I see no point. I've left them off with a warning. As for you five-" She eyed each one of them. "Punishments should be made."

"So just detention?" Sirius pleaded.

"Yes, although I am reluctant to let all of you in a room all at once. Therefore, Mr Potter and Mr Pettigrew shall take detention together, with Professor Slughorn on Mondays and Wednesdays for five weeks, seeing as you used plenty of his products, goodness knows how."

"That's not-" Peter stood up.

"Sit down, Mr Pettigrew. Mr Lupin, seeing as you're the mastermind behind all of these pranks, probably, you'll be helping out in the Infirmary every weekend, for five weeks. Mr Black and Miss Meadowes, you'll be sitting in this very office, writing lines and essays and other things I'll come up with, every Tuesday and Friday. If any of you come up with another foolish prank, in which someone can get hurt, during this time, the punishments will be way worse. Am I clear?" McGonagall looked at them.

"Yes, Professor." All of them nodded, reluctantly.

"You may leave then." She ushered them away, each of them leaving one by one.

"Bullshit." Sirius scoffed.

"It's Snivelly's fault, isn't it? He must've told." James crossed his arms.

"Oh, he's gonna regret this," Dorcas scoffed.

"Didn't know you were such a prankster, even." Sirius crossed his arms.

"You don't know _everything_ , do you now?" Dorcas shrugged, skipping in front of them.


	44. Third Year: Sirius' Birthday

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Song mentioned at the beginning: Starman-by David Bowie)

_There's a starman waiting in the sky_

_He'd like to come and meet us_

_But he thinks he'd blow our minds_

_There's a starman waiting in the sky_

_He's told us not to blow it_

_'Cause he knows it's all worthwhile_

Sirius' birthday quickly approached, making Dorcas rush to finish off the scarf. She hadn't abandoned the original idea of a scarf, except the colours were slightly different, making them way brighter than usual and bolder. She'd also been roped into the boys' plans for a surprise party, under the threat of fire ants being released in her dorm and considering the hornet prank, Dorcas wasn't doubting them any more. She'd managed to steal a few balloons from the teacher's lounge, as it was Professor Dearborn's birthday the week before. No regrets were made.

James and Peter had been in charge of the cake, spending almost five nights in a row with the elves. Remus was in charge of cleaning up the boys' dorm, though with his procrastination, Mary had agreed to help as well. Alice wanted to make something, a present of sorts, nipping it from the Greenhouse storage, where old plants laid, decaying, though Alice being the absolute genius she was, managed to make the Moly look like it was alive.

The real challenge was to keep it from Sirius, as he was a pest when it came to secrets. Especially in detention, where even with McGonagall's death stares, Sirius still talked ever so much, pressing Dorcas about the sudden changes in everyone's behaviour. She didn't want to spill a single thing, knowing that James would kill her, though the overwhelming amount of questions were starting to make her break. Luckily, though, the day had finally come and James had scripted it all out very carefully.

- **Step Number One: Get Sirius away until nightfall (Dorcas's duty)**

_"What why me?"_

_"Because he won't question it, plus you've already finished your task."_

And so, she was kicked out of the dorm and instructed to go to the library, where Sirius was, surprisingly, finishing up his Divination project. Dorcas rushed down the stone stairs, and straight into Madam Pince's sanctuary.

"Quiet, Meadowes." The old librarian warned.

"Noted." She nodded, as she rushed into the back, where Sirius sat, book open on the table.

"Divination project, huh?"

"Yeah." He sighed. "Y'know, I thought Divination would be fun, but all we do is listen to Professor Imago predict our deaths. My personal favourite was the time he said that I'd die very young. Puh-lease, I'm immortal."

"You can't be immortal..."

"Have I died yet?"

"Well, no, but-"

"Exactly: IM-OR-TAL." He wrote into the air. 

"You missed an M." Dorcas pointed out.

"Whatever, you get my point though." He sighed. "Also, your mum's a Muggle right?"

"Yeah..."

"Brilliant." He grabbed the workbook from his bag, smacking it onto the table. "Can you help me with Muggle Studies? It's not as easy as I would've thought. What's a microwave?"

"It's like, " Dorcas drew a box in mid-air, "This box thing, that warms up food and such."

"That, that's actually not a bad idea. I wonder why wizards don't do it."

"Because you love to make things more complicated."

"Fair enough. Also, y'know, you Muggles have a funny way of the government working." 

"What'd you mean?" Dorcas furrowed her eyebrows.

"Well, why wouldn't the UK be socialist, if no leaders means no corruption. Bingo Bango, problem solved." Sirius suggested.

"Wait, that actually makes sense."

"Of course it does, I said it." Dorcas slapped him slightly, as he said this, from across the table.

"Alright then, Socialist Sirius, aren't you gonna finish the Divination project?" 

"It's bonkers either way. We're supposed to see something about Palmistry." He held up his hand. "What is my element?"

"Your what now?" Dorcas grabbed the group. "Oh. Well, I think it's water? You've got skinny, long fingers and a skinny, long palm, so-"

"Jeez, thanks." He slapped the book back, rubbing his hand, "So I'm in tune with my emotions, intuition, and psychic ability. It also says-I'm not sensitive!"

Dorcas snorted slightly. "Your reaction to that should be warning enough."

"Alright, alright." He wrote it down. "Mounts now." He held out his hand.

"You have an elevated mount on your Jupiter, I think. And Saturn. Along with Mercury." Dorcas nodded.

"Where do you have it?" 

"Jupiter, Mercury, Outer Mars and Apollo." 

"Huh..." Sirius continued reading.

Dorcas looked up at the window. It was already dark.

- **Step Number Two: Get Sirius back to the dorm room (Still Dorcas's duty)**

_"Again me?"_

_"What'd you expect, Mary, to come and take it? No. It'll be easier If you just do it."_

"Hey, uh, are you finished?"

"Yeah. I'll just finish the rest in class, five minutes before the professor comes in." Sirius slapped the book shut, stuffing it into his bag. "Why?"

"Uh, no reason, but we should probably go, or else you know with Madam Pince..."

"You're right, I guess." He eyed her, as he stood up. 

The two rushed out of the library, mainly Dorcas dragging the boy behind her. Sirius complained an awful lot as the got to the portrait, and proceeded to enter through the tunnel. Some students were already going back to their dorm rooms, saying bye for the night. Dorcas, however, continued dragging Sirius back up the stairs to his room. 

- **Step Number Three: Bowchickawowow (All of Us)**

_"That's the stupidest thing you've said all day."_

_"Shut up, Dorcy."_

_"It's-nevermind."_

_"Oh right, CAS."_

_"STOP."_

"What is-?" Sirius' eyes bulged out of his skull as he saw his dorm room.

"Surprise!" James waved his hands.

A banner was hanging from two poles, written in italic: _Happy Birthday, Sirius!_ Peter still had some red paint on his left cheek and in his hair. Remus was standing around, with his hands in his pockets. Mary was balanced on a stool, fixing up the balloons, while Alice held the Moly plant in her hand while holding her thumbs up. Even Dorcas was surprised by all this, with around four presents standing in the corner. A small, clearly splodged cake, with a piece missing, laid on the table.

"You guys did all this, for me?" Sirius eyed all of them as Dorcas shut the door behind them.

"'Course mate. You deserve it." James patted him on the shoulder.

"You also got a cake?" Sirius looked over at the plate.

"Yeah. Peter ate a bit before you could come-" Remus eyed him.

"It was good though."

"Thanks for the heads up, mate." He scoffed, chuckling slightly. "Wait, presents as well?"

"Yea." Alice nodded, as she held out the plant. "Got you something as well, though couldn't pack it."

"Brilliant, thanks, Alice." Sirius nodded. "Wait," He turned to Dorcas, "Does that mean you finished the scarf?"

"Yeah." Dorcas smiled.

"Awesome." 

"C'mon I got you something as well." James took his gift, throwing it to the boy, making Sirius open it on the spot.

"A record player?"

"My idea," Remus stated proudly. "So you don't have to borrow mine anymore."

"Genious, though I don't think this was 100 per cent for me,"

"It's a win-win. Deal with it." Remus shrugged.

"Thanks again, guys."

"Well don't just stand there, eat some cake. Before Pete does." Mary chuckled.

"C'mon, that's not fair!" Peter stomped his foot, making everyone burst out laughing.


End file.
